Over the last two years, Chad Kroeger of Nickelback [ tickets ] has become adept at collaborating with top artists. He's scored hits with Josey Scott of Saliva ("Hero" from the "Spider-Man" soundtrack), Carlos Santana ("Why Don't You and I"), and a cover of Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" with Kid Rock and Pantera's "Dimebag" Darrell for the "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" soundtrack.

Vocalist/guitarist Kroeger and the rest of his band--bassist Mike Kroeger, guitarist/vocalist Ryan Peake and drummer Ryan Vikedale--were recently touring the U.S. in support of their latest release "The Long Road." So far, it has spawned the hit single "Someday." The band, which is currently touring Europe, returns to North America for a series of Canadian dates early next year.

Kroeger took time out during a recent tour stop to talk to liveDaily about his numerous collaborations, the songwriting process and his penchant for partying.

liveDaily: Were you surprised at how popular the song "Hero" was?

Chad Kroeger: Yes. After that one, I think I was starting to get a little spoiled. When "How You Remind Me" did what it did, that was incredible. But when "Hero" came out--and that came out halfway through the lifespan of [the Nickelback single] "Too Bad;" "Too Bad" was taking off and heading to the top of the charts--and went to No. 1 in all formats, in every country just like "How You Remind Me," I'm like, "OK, this is just getting easy." Now, [with "The Long Road"], I'm starting to realize those don't come around all the time.

I don't want to concentrate just on collaborations, but tell me what it was like to work with Carlos Santana on the song "Why Don't You and I" for his "Shaman" album.

That was very, very flattering to be asked to send some material in [to Santana]. Those are the kinds of opportunity that you have to seize. Those people aren't always gonna be calling. It was an absolute honor, really. He's a man who just continually reinvents himself. He's doing this collaboration thing on every record he puts out. So it's cool.

What did you learn from working with Carlos Santana?

I definitely learned that when I get to be his age, I hope I can still be doing the same sort of thing he's doing. That's just absolutely brilliant. You take all the multi-platinum artists from the previous year and ask them to submit some material, and away you go.

How did you feel about not being able to have your version released to radio?

That was definitely disappointing, hugely disappointing because it was so cool to be asked and I think it's a great song. When my record company [Roadrunner Records] told me that I couldn't do it, that they didn't want the song getting in the way of our release and they wanted me to just be focused on Nickelback, yadda, yadda--any other record company in the world would have killed for that kind of opportunity for one of their artists. I just got blocked. So finally, I was like, "You know what? They're gonna release the song anyway. They're gonna get someone else to sing it, in which case you have no control. So if they're gonna do that anyway, why don't you just let my version go?" They were like, "Nope. Absolutely not." That's what happens when you sign a record deal.

What do you think about the version by Alex Band of The Calling?

It's cool. I produced the vocal track that Alex did. I got him to fly to Vancouver. We just had fun with it. I chose who sang the song. We just went down a big list. Alex was a young, fresh talent and it seemed like he could do a damn good job. I've actually found out that about 75 percent of the radio stations in America are playing my version anyway. It was kind of like, "You know what? They can play whatever they want unless they get a cease and desist letter, in which case it would just be so hard for Roadrunner to stop them from doing that." So, I win in the end anyway, even though I didn't get to shoot the video.

Tell me about the songwriting process for your latest album, "The Long Road."

A lot of it was written on the road. I like to have material just flowing all the time so when it's time to make the record, you're not sitting there going, "OK, what are we gonna do now?" It's nice to be prepared for a kid who was so lazy he waited until Sunday at 11 o'clock to do his homework, back when I was in school. Then I would tell myself, "I'll set the alarm and I'll get up at like 6:30 on Monday morning and I'll do my homework then." For someone who was such the world's largest procrastinator, I sure do like being prepared when it comes to Nickelback. Man, I was the laziest kid, too. Now, I'll sound intelligent here for a second, Confucius said, "Do a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life." I guess that's just the way I feel.

Do you write in the studio as well or do you write mostly on the road?

I like going in there with most of the ideas. It's cool to leave some spaces when you're in the studio; then things evolve differently. It always turns into a special-effects thing when you leave it to the studio because it's limitless. You can do whatever you want there. So when there's spaces and pauses or you're not quite sure what you're going to do with the bridge or whatever it may be, I always find if you wait until you get to the studio, it's definitely going to have a studio feel to it. [Laughs]

You have some interesting topics on your CD. You don't really have a lot of hope for happiness. You're always kind of skeptical about it.

[Laughs] I think a lot of people relate to that. That's something I definitely wanted to do with this record. With "Silver Side Up," I wound up talking a lot about me. And it was cool that a lot of people could relate to that. With this one, I didn't want to talk about me anymore because I don't want people to think that all I'm trying to do is recreate "Silver Side Up." We can go back to those kinds of topics at another time. For now, I definitely like to grab some universal themes like love. Love's always a good one--or a broken heart. That's a big winner with me, with a lot of people.

"Throw Yourself Away" is a moving song about a girl who gives birth during her prom and then kills her baby. Those incidents must have really touched you for you to recall them several years later.

It's pretty heavy. ... That same type of circumstance has occurred before. It wasn't just a specific case. It wasn't so much specific, it was just the thought of it. It's like, "You know what? The baby's already there. The baby's right there. If you don't want it, there are so many people on the planet who would love to have that baby. It's already there." But she was just embarrassed. I don't know. It's a shame. It's like, "You know what? I guess somebody should have made sure someone was wearing a condom."

You said that on this album you wanted to concentrate less on yourself. Is it easier to sing these songs live?

No, it's definitely not easier to sing these songs. Now the set is like an hour and a half long. It doesn't matter what the topic is. It's like singing for an hour and a half for every single night. It's not like there are these big five-minute guitar solos or anything. I'm just screaming the whole time. It's a task. It's a chore. It's a workout.

How do you keep your voice in shape?

I have no idea. I'm just trying not to smoke any smokeables. I'm trying to take it easy on the booze. But I'm kind of addicted to the partying 'cause it's just so much fun. Being on the road is just so much fun. … I try not to indulge quite as much as I used to. I love to drink beer. I love to do shots and I love to just have a good time. I love having a great time on the road and it's just really, really f---ing hard to do every single night.