Daughtry Explains the Theme Behind New Album "Leave This Town," Preps for August Club Tour

After performing live before 30-million television viewers, selling over five-million copies of your first album, and rocking countless clubs and arenas, what's left for Daughtry to do? "Cross our fingers," says frontman Chris Daughtry. The band returns this week with their sophomore effort, "Leave This Town." Daughtry, who made the list of finalists during American Idol Season 5, says at this point in his career, there's really no routine or ritual leading up to a new release.

On a sleepy morning before "Leave This Town" hit stores, Daughtry tells me he went into the second disc without a concept. "We just wrote songs forever," he says while admitting the band generated nearly 70 tunes while trying to find which songs gelled together to create the right thematic style. In the end, the songs selected for the album show reflect the feeling of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' If there is a theme, Daughtry says it's that where we've been determines where we're going.

That doesn't mean "Leave This Town" isn't without some experimentation. The country influenced "Tennessee Line" features a fiddle and the vocal harmonies of Vince Gill, who Daughtry looked up to as a "young buck." He says it was an honor to work Gill, and quite a surreal experience. The track could easily fit into playlists on pop, adult contemporary, and country radio stations.

There's also the anthem style power ballad "September," which draws on the singer's experiences growing up with his brother in a tiny North Carolina town. Daughtry says that's probably his favorite song on "Leave This Town." "There's a line in the song that says we knew we had to leave this town, which stems from my childhood. I knew in order to do anything big with my life I would have to leave that town that I was in. It probably had a population of 100 or so," says Daughtry.

Now that the disc is out, what's next for these meat and potatoes rockers? In August, they kick off a 13 date club tour. Daughtry says the advantage of playing the smaller venues is the energy. "You feel like you can connect with everyone in the room." Tickets are already on sale at many of these venues:

August 2 Orlando, FL House of Blues

August 4 Boston, MA Showcase Live

August 7 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion

August 8 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre

August 9 Minneapolis, MN The Cabooze

August 11 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom

August 12 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall

August 14 Houston, TX Warehouse Live

August 16 Denver, CO The Gothic Theatre

August 18 Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theatre

August19 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theater

August 20 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore

August 22 Las Vegas, NV Pure