The members of Theory of a Deadman grew up within six blocks of one another in the small town of North Delta, Canada. Tyler Connolly and Dean Back went to the same guitar school and worked in the same restaurant, and Dave Brenner was the younger brother of one of Back's friends. “We recognized each other at work, and one night, Tyler asked if I was interested in starting a band with him,” Dean recalls. “Dave and his band used to play gigs with us, and he ended up taking the spot on guitar.” The band chose its name from the original title of “Last Song,” a track Connolly penned seven years ago about a man who writes his memoirs before committing suicide. Theory of a Deadman made a name for themselves playing live in the Vancouver scene, then one night Connelly ran into Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger at a party and handed the rocker a copy of his demo. Many established musicians toss such recordings, but Kroeger listened to the disc, and liked it so much he immediately recruited Theory for his label 604 Records.

The band released its debut "Theory of a Deadman" in 2002, and was soon embraced as a new force in articulate, emotional hard rock. By the time Theory of a Deadman started writing for "Gasoline" in earnest, they were firing like a stock car engine. "Gasoline" is immediate and urgent without sounding the least bit rushed. Throughout, the band is inventive and precise, drawing influence from decades of rock and recontextualizing them into personal and passionate songs that range from acoustic-based ballads to electrified anthems. In addition to coming up with colorful, spontaneous riffs and melodies, Connolly penned his most heartfelt and narrative lyrics to date. Some songs were culled from personal experience, including the self-explanatory “Hating Hollywood” and the touching family break-up song “Hello Lonely.” “My mom left our family when I was in high school, so I write about how my dad felt when she left,” he said. “She just took off, so I grew up with my dad. I think anyone who's had a family split can relate to that one.”

“I just think that if you want to be real, you have to write from the heart,” Connolly says. “You can't write a smash hit, you can just write great songs that will hopefully become smash hits. I always say it's easy to write a song, hard to write a good song and pure luck to write a hit.” With such a good attitude and such strong material, Theory of a Deadman don't need luck. They've just gotta pour out the gasoline, and watch it burn.