UNIVERSAL 3 Doors Down brings rock back to Pipeline Tuesday and Wednesday.

Appearances on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." An album debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. Life keeps getting better for members of 3 Doors Down since their newest album, "Seventeen Days," was released early last month.

In concert 3 Doors Down Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St. When: 7 p.m. April 5 and 6 Tickets: $25, with VIP tickets $50, 18 and over (April 5 concert is sold out) Info: (877) 750-4400 or www.ticketmaster.com

The band sold more than 12 million albums with their previous releases, "The Better Life" (2000) and "Away From the Sun" (2002), which made its Billboard debut at No. 8. The band has been nominated for four Grammy awards in the past, but the biggest buzz of their career so far has centered around "Seventeen Days," which was certified platinum March 15.

The album sold more than 200,000 copies in its first week of release alone, and momentum is still going strong. Need proof? The group added a second concert date here after the first one on Tuesday at Pipeline Cafe sold out. There's room for a few more fans at the second show scheduled for the next night.

"It's one of those things you can never quite understand," said bassist Todd Harrell in appreciation of the latest album's strong sales start. "I don't think it's quite hit any of us yet -- it's been pretty much go as fast as you can."

Harrell called earlier this month from the NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., where the band was getting ready to perform "Let Me Go Tonight" on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Harrell said "Seventeen Days" (which has since slipped to the No. 15 spot during its six weeks on the Billboard chart) is better than previous efforts. "I'm kind of fond of the whole record," he said. "Musically, it's better. It's better sonically, we're better writers now, (and) it's produced better."

With each successive album has come more visibility, and the band members' free time has become a trade-off for that popularity. In fact, the album's title comes from the time the band is able to spend at home in between tours. "It comes from the time set aside to nothing," said Harrell. "It comes from our writing time. It's about your time, which is cut in half. The last time we were home (in Mississippi) for an extended period of time, there was a hurricane and Chris (Henderson, the guitar player), his father passed away."

3 Doors Down's newest single, "It's Not Me," was previously road-tested in front of faithful crowds before they decided to put it on the record. "You never really know what's going to go over big," said Harrell.

The band decided to mix up their well-known sound a bit on their newest album, although fans can still expect to hear previous hits as "Here Without You," "When I'm Gone" and "Kryptonite" in concert here next week.

"We took this record real seriously. We wanted good, edgy rock 'n' roll. We listened to a lot of '70s music. We listened to the tones and tried to get that tonality on the record. I think we did it."

Harrell, who grew up in Escatawpa, Miss., and has been playing bass for 10 years, said he never set out to become a professional musician. "We were pretty much born and raised in a small town, every one pretty much knew everybody," he said. "I didn't have a life plan (to become a musician). But it's the greatest job you could ever have. It's a dream."