3 Doors Down brings musical message to RNC in Tampa

At the Republican National Convention, everyone has a message. For multiplatinum rock band 3 Doors Down, that message is: Hey, check out our new song!

The group was scheduled to deliver the world premiere of new single One Light just before New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's keynote address at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

"It is unique, but we felt it would get the song a lot of attention," said lead singer Brad Arnold. "The song is about giving the world more than you take from it, and making a change for the good."

But he said that doesn't mean 3 Doors Down necessarily supports Mitt Romney.

"We've never really been a very political band," he said. "We wrote the song back in May, and we just really felt like it applied."

The band drove overnight from Nashville to Tampa, where they soundchecked at the early hour of 9 a.m., along with other musical performers like the Oak Ridge Boys and Night Ranger's Jack Blades. On Tuesday afternoon, Arnold said he was shocked by the size and scope of the spectacle.

"It's such an operation," he said. "You come through the security gates there, and the guys are standing there with machine guns. You come in here and you just see how much goes into this thing. I thought we had a lot of production on our tour, but they've got a little production on theirs."

After sticking around for Christie's speech, Arnold said the band would be back on the road to Nashville. As for the souvenirs he'll take from his whirlwind trip through the center of the political universe: "A lot of Instagram."