In a world ruled by 140 characters and 30-second clips, staying relevant and maintaining attention is harder than ever.
Yet somehow Canadian pop-punk legends Simple Plan are still filling out venues after years in the business, displaying a staying power rare in an industry where audiences seem ever hungry for the next big thing.
Five albums, more than ten awards and countless hits later, the band has also managed to hold onto the original lineup of Pierre Bouvier (vocals), Chuck Comeau (drums), David Desrosiers (bass, backing vocals), Sébastien Lefebvre (guitar, backing vocals) and Jeff Stinco (lead guitar). Many other groups from their era haven’t been as lucky, making Simple Plan that rare thing: a band of mates, rather than just a gaggle of musicians.
“It’s kind of crazy to think about, because there aren’t many bands [that play] our style of music that haven’t had lots of lineup changes,” Comeau says. “I think first and foremost it’s because we’re all friends: we grew up together, we came from the same kind of place, had the same values and went to the same high school together. So on that very basic level we really understand each other, and I think that makes all the difference.
“That has worked for us for 17 years now, and I think more and more as the years go by, we realise how special that is and how much the fans really appreciate the fact that we’re the same five. It makes it even more precious to us and makes us want to protect it even more and keep going. We appreciate that we built a legacy and we want to protect that.”
The relationship Simple Plan has with their fans runs much deeper than it does for most bands. They haven’t just remained true to their craft and consistently made good music: they have also created something that has changed people’s lives. Luckily for the group, they have been able to access this fan feedback directly, via social media and their time on tour. “We have so many [great] moments on the road and online,” Comeau explains. “There are so many moments of love that we get from our fans, and it makes it extremely awesome for us to be aware of it.
“There are more ways now than ever to realise the impact music has on people, and that’s pretty special,” he goes on. “People get our lyrics tattooed, and write us these long letters about how our music has helped them with depression and to get through tough times in their lives. It makes you realise that it’s more than just songs on a CD – it actually means a lot to a lot of people and I think that’ll never get old. It’s pretty fucking cool to hear that.”
The single ‘This Song Saved My Life’ was written as a result of this fan-band relationship, a way of thanking their legion of adorers for their dedication to the group. “I’m just really humbled they [like] our songs and our band,” Comeau says. “It makes me realise how important these records are for the fans, and makes me want to work harder for them. I don’t want to let them down.”
The past two years have seen Simple Plan step in a new direction, allowing their fifth studio release Taking One For The Team to pay homage to unexpected reference points. Naturally the band developed different interests over the years rather than just sticking to pop punk, and those genres have infiltrated the newest release. That said, writing the record wasn’t necessarily an easy process.
“Every record for us just gets harder and harder, because you have to live up to the records before it,” Comeau says. “These records for us were successful and did well. When you’re making a record you don’t want to put out one that goes nowhere – you want it to be an accomplishment. It makes you want to work harder and produce an album that can stand up to your legacy as a band. The bar is high and the pressure is on, so we work really hard.
“It’s all about balance,” he continues, “and I think that’s particularly why this album took so long. We had a full album, but looking back we were like, ‘You know what? It sounds like it is missing some old-school uptempo songs.’ And we went back and wrote some more songs and fixed the album, because we felt that it wasn’t right. So I think it’s really important to stick to our roots and our sound, because there aren’t many other bands who do that anymore. We wrote [those last three songs] pretty much on the deadline and it changed the whole record.”
In addition to the new release, Simple Plan will be heading to Australia, their first visit since hitting our fair land back in 2013. After touring Mexico, parts of Asia and America, the band was itching to head back to Oz, the country for which it penned the track ‘Summer Paradise’, a tune bursting with optimistic lyrics. “I gotta find my way back, back to summer paradise”goes the chorus – no doubt Simple Plan’s fans will be waiting for them with open arms.
[Simple Plan photo by Chapman Baehler]
Taking One For The Team isout now through Warner. Simple Plan play theEnmore Theatre on Saturday September 10.
