Your experiences at a Sum 41 concert. If you have a concert review you would like to submit email me at: sum41_islandrecords@hotmail.com |
REVIEWS AND CONCERT REVIEWS |
SUM 41 ON THE 2003 WARPED TOUR!!! SUBMITTED BY: JASMINE NORRIS CHICAGO, IL JUNE 29, 03: It's 7:00 P.M. and SUM 41 comes out of their tour bus to get their gear together and to watch Tsunami Bomb and Andrew W.K. perform before they have to go on stage. Deryck Whibley is constantly talking on his cell phone to someone then he sees his fans standing by the gate. He turns off his cell phone and waves and walks over to sign some autographs. Deryck, who's hair was freshly died blond last week, smiles and signs as many autographs as he can. When he signed my poster, I asked him if he was feeling any better (he had lost his voice.) He looked surprised and said "Yeah, a little." All the guys of SUM 41 are so nice. It's 8:30 P.M. and time for SUM 41 to take the stage and play there 30 minutes of the Warped Tour. They get on stage and do an awsome job. Some of the songs they played were The Hell Song, Motivation, Still Waiting, A.N.I.C., and many more. When they were done, Steve Jocz comes out and signs some autographs and poses for pictures. When it was my turn for an autograph and picture I talked to him for awhile and asked him if he had fun tonight. He said "Oh, Yeah!" I keep waiting around after the concert, just watching the guys. Then the security people made us get out. It was an awsome concert. If you ever get a chance, you have to see SUM 41 in concert. SUM 41 ROCKS LIKE NO OTHER!!!!! SUBMITTED BY: JASMINE NORRIS CLEVELAND, OH Feb. 16, 03: It's a cold, snowy night and a thousand punks are paitently waiting for the doors of the Agora Theatre to open. Why has the old, rustic theatre drawn these kids to it's awaiting stage? Well because there are going to be four cute and talented canadians performing on the stage tonight. In case you haven't guessed it's none other than SUM 41. After waiting for awhile, the doors finally open and greet the fans with a rush to find the best spot possible to see SUM 41. After everyone has found a spot to watch, AUTHORITY ZERO, one of SUM 41's warm up bands begin to staggar on stage. They play for about thirty minutes, while the crowd is going wild. After they get done playing, they go off stage to make room for The STARTING LINE, another warm up band. These guys are all young, around the age of eighteen, but man do they know how to rock. As soon as they were done the last warm up band, NO USE FOR A NAME, comes on the stage to put in their thirty minutes. They were excellent. Now everyone is getting restless while they wait for SUM 41 to come on. They watch the stage intently watching the roadies set up the stage, hoping they'll catch a quick glimpse of one of the band members. There is no such luck. But finally the lights go down and everyone starts to scream while the gorgous guys: Deryck, Steve, Dave, and Cone bounce onto the stage. They start to play and the crowd goes wilder, hanging on to every word. They play for about an hour. Everyone is jumping, singing along to every song, and screaming at the top of their lungs. SUM 41 played all the songs from their new album, "Does This Look Infected?" Plus some songs from last years album "All Killer, No Filler." After they got done playing they left the stage, but everyone keep on screaming "SUM 41, SUM 41, SUM 41" so after awhile the guys come back on stage for an encore. Sadly the concert is now over. Everyone rushes to the merch booth to get all of their SUM 41 merchandise. Everyone bought so much that a lot of the gear ended up selling out. After the show I got to meet part of SUM 41. I got to meet Deryck, Steve, and Dave. Cone wasn't out at the tour bus yet. I talked to the guys about the concert and stuff and got some pics and an autograph. Then the security guy came out and said that it was time for me to leave because they had to leave so they could get to Kentucky in time for their next concert. Everyone was really nice though. So I went back to the hotel and thought about the great day I had. I can't wait untill I can see them again!! WARPED TOUR JULY 9, 2003 SUBMITTED BY: Emily Morris I went to a Sum 41 concert on July 9th. It was the Warped Tour in Ventura, California. When I first got there I was so excited. I wanted to meet SUM 41 so bad. I got there at 10 AM and SUM 41 was going to play at 5 PM. I thought since the whole concert started at 12 PM and I got there two hours early that there would be no line, but well there was. Finally I got in and started to walk around. I went to go look at who was playing first and it was MATCHBOX ROMANCE. I had no idea who they were, but I watched anyway. After they played I went to eat something and I discovered that if you sat in this one spot by the beer garden famous people walked out all the time. So after about 20 minutes David from SIMPLE PLAN walked right by me. I ran after him and got him to sign my SUM 41 hat. About an hour later Bert from THE USED walked out and he signed my hat also. Then I looked at my watch and it was almost 4 and SIMPLE PLAN played at 4 so I went to the main stage. I got there right in time. I managed to push my way to the pit. I was so excited for SUM 41 to come on I wasn't really watching. They finally were done and SUM 41 came on. I was so happy. Deryck came on stage and his hair was blonde. That was a shocker. The first song they played was "Thanks For Nothing." Deryck was hot as usual. When they were done I wanted to go looking for them. I set off on my quest. I was about to give up and them in the corner of my eye I spotted a tall skinny guy. Cone!!! I was so happy I ran over to him and asked for his autograph. Then I saw Deryck, Dave, and Steve. After I got all their autographs I was ready to go home. MY STORY SUBMITTED BY: KIM LINDSAY The concert was April 10, 2003, and now it's April 26 and I'm still excited over it. It was at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona at 8pm. Sara and I got there at 5pm and there were only 10 people in line, and around the corner there were three big luxury bus type things so I was like lets go check this out. We stood by this gate seperating the buses and the parking lot and I could see a couple people with guitars and some boxes labeled no use. I was like hmm band stuff and guys who could possibly be in a band, unfortunately I have 3 burned No Use For A Name CD's, but I had never saw a picture of them and I didn't really know who The Starting Line was, so I couldn't tell whether we were looking at roadies or band guys! I had suspicions and no one else around us saw how we were at a possible celeb spotting place, and we had nothing else to do, so we hung around there for awhile watching to see if we could decide whether the people were famouse. Then after 10 min. Steveo came out of the hall type thing where roadies were taking the band stuff to. He walked out and towards the buses (away from us) and at the same time Sara and I gasped and turned to each other and were like "omg! Steveo!!!!!!!" We were way excited at this point and giddy, and we stood there kinda in shock and freaking out for a little bit. Then I look over and Deryck was standing right near the band stuff talking to a roadie guy and I gasped even more and turned to Sara and I said "OMG!!! DERYCK!!!" and Sara was like where and then she was him and we started freaking out like little teenyboppers and we were just warching him not knowing what to do but then they saw us and said "hey ladies" and I said "let us over there" and they just kinda laughed and we were like uh... and Sara said "Deryck I love you!" and I said "yeah me too." Deryck laughed and the roadie said "Deryck loves you too" and Deryck said "how old are you guys?" and we were like uh... (we weren't prepared and both of us didn't know what to say we are only 16, but we love Deryck) and the Sara said "seventeen" and right after she said it I was like shit, we should've said 19 goddamnit. I said "Sara why not 18!" and she said "well because we sere stalling, he probaly wouldn't believe us" which is true. Then I wondered if he believed us about 17. Then Deryck went away from us toward the bus and he sat on the cub and talked on his cell phone and we watched and decided that we really needed to ask him to come over to us when he was done, so he got done and started walking back and I said "Deryck can we have hugs?" He walked up to us and gave us hugs (OH MY GOD!) and he talked to us for a while (we asked him about phx, touring, who was opening for them, what his tattoo was of, and where beano cafe was-it was on his shirt) and he signed my arm and Sara's tummy. Then a couple girls saw him and us and came running ober and he hugged them and signed stuff and then he left. Those girls came near us and we started talking to them and staying on the lookout. Then Dave came out and we gave him a hug and he signed my arm and our tickets. More and more people kept coming over so our group was about 20-30 people. Deryck came back out and signed stuff for them and I said "hey buddy sorry to bother you again but can you sign out tickets and can I have another hug?" He signed them and we got another hug (OMG) and I asked him if I could have a kiss and he said "I can't kiss you, you're too young!" and was lik damnit, but it was funny. Then he left. The guy next to us was a Starting Line fan and he recognized Kenny (singer and bass player) so Kenny came over and he was so cute and sweet and friendly. Sara and I got hugs from him and he signed my arm and out tickets and we automatically loved him. Later on Steve came back out and we hugged him and he signed my arm and out tickets and right behind him was Cone. We hugged him and he signed my arm and our tickets and this extra part of the ticket for out friend Sam who loves him. Then the crowd was like does anyone know what No Use For A Name look like? Then the guy next to us said "No Use" when people we didn't recognize came out. We saw Tony (lead singer) and Rory (drums) and we got hugs and autographs. Then the guy spotted Tom (drummer of The Starting Line) and we got hugs and autographs from him as well. Now it was time for the doors to open for the concert. Sara and I were like crap now we're going to get shitty seats, but them we saw the girls we had saw earlier and they let us up front in line with them. We got front row center seats. We were hugging these chicks and thanking them so much. Then we waited for an hour and The Starting Line came on and they were so good. We felt bad that we didn't know any of the words. We cheered for Kenny he was so funny with the crowd. Then No Use For A Name came on and they played good and I knew some, but not many of the words and Tony kept making a weird lick face at Sara and it was funny. Then Rory threw us his water bottle and I drank some of it because I was thirsty and Sara saved the rest. The venue was small, but pretty packed and Sum 41 came on and they were so awesome and good!!! People were crowdsurfing and kept kicking us in the head and jumping onstage and Deryck stopped the concert twice and told people basically to simmer down and be nice to one another, but it didn't really help. I got hit i the head and scrated by a crowdsurger's chain, but it was all worth it. It was a great show other than that. We never know what the song "A.N.I.C." stood for and right before they played it Deryck said "Yeah we wanna dedicate this song. Do you guys know who Anna Nicole Smith is? Well this song is dedicated to her. Anna Nicole is a stupid fucking cunt!" I was like oh Anna Nicole Is a Cunt. By 11:15 the concert was over and we were sweaty and smelly and we went to the lobby and they were selling The Starting Line sruff and Kenny was standing around talking to fans. Sara bought their CD and we pushed up to him and got another hug and talked to him and he signed her CD and my shoe. Then Sara's mom picked us up and we went home. I got in at midnight and could sleep. I was so excited and overwhlemed. I ended up sleeping at one. I slept on my back so my autographs wouldn't come off. We had gotten some The Starting LIne stickers and Friday I wore one on my shirt and didn't shower (eww I know, but you'd understand why....I used like a whole bottle of body spray.) Things I regret: not having a camera and using self tanner. It was streaking down my legs! But oh man meeting celbs is seriously exciting and Sum 41 was so good in concert. They played a lot of songs and still could play good with annoying fans jumping onstage. The Starting Line and No Use For A Name were also good ( you should buy their CD's!) but nothing compares to Sum 41. I've loved them since "Fat Lip" and they have always been the 2nd favorite behind Good Charlotte. SUM 41 CONCERT APRIL 26TH SUBMITTED BY: GINA TURCO Tons of teens from all over Chicago were coming to see Sum 41 or one of their opening acts (Goldfinger or Autopilot Off.) It's general admittion, first come first serve. The 22 year olds arriving hours earlier hoping to get good moshing spots. The other who arrive two hours before the concert have to walk around the whole building and the line keeps adding. Few fans wear anything that Sum 41 would notice. The three biggest were the girls with the Canadian flags and Sum 41 shirts (Gina T., Natalie P., and their sisters), group who made a giant poster, and four girls who made shirts saying we love Sum 41 and it had the band members names on the back. Every kid had that I just got our of bed hair do. While in line a guard stood off to the gate, he was showing the canadian flag girls the bus that Sum 41 used to come here with. As the line moves up the Q101 van passes and teens scream. Then the guards say the girls to the left guys to the right so everyone can be searched. Once passing the guards moshers move downstairs, fans who just realized they weren't wearing anything of Sum 41's move to the gift shop, and teens who actually want to see the concert move to the balcony. Which is really close cause the place only holds 2,000 people. Agter and hour of waiting the first opening act sets up. Suddenly the lights go out and the stage lights up. Autopilot pulls the first string of their guitar and the crowd screams, moshers start jumping and kids in the gift show run for seats. Kids throw their shoes on stage in appreciation for the band. While the band is playing Dave (Brownsound one of Sum 41's guitarist) stands back stage and waves to the crowd. The dark room is lit by the stages colored lights flashing in every direction. The moshers are trying their hardest to get on stage by jumping on top of eveyone and having other moshers push them toward the stage. Autopilot plays a half and hour then played the crowd a good bye song. Once they're off the stage the lights slowly turn back on and it's intermission between opening acts. Everyone runs downstairs to get a picture with Autoplilot Off and strech their legs. A few moshers get tired of standing and try to move to the balcony but there's no room and the intermission is almost over. The lights soon dim again and Goldfinger gets ready to play. The lights on the stage are red and ther are tiny toys on the ground as a band symbol. The crowd is shouting with excitment but there's not as much moshing. Goldfinger had well known songs from "The Wedding Singer," and some video games. The band then yelled repeat after me and then yelled three swears for the audience to scream. Soon the band announces Jesus us at the corner (really it's Deryck the main singer of Sum 41 dressed up.) Once the band is done talking to Jesus they invite at least forty moshers onstage who then got to go backstage and meet Sum 41. The crowd then turned wild. The main singer of Goldfinger walked on top of moshers until he fell as a trick. The bands thirty minutes were soon up and it was intermission, also time for Autopilot to move over so Goldfinger could meet fans and sign things. During intermission the crazy, wild, and fun Sum 41 got ready to play, moshers were trying to get seats cause they were so tired, but they were all taken. Four fans (named Gina, Natalie, Kari, and Slywia, all wearing Sum 41 shirts) stood up to show everyone behind them that they were going to be standing. Suddenly the lights flicker and there's a loud sound Sum 41 screams something but the crowd is screaming so loud. Everybody in the balcony are now standing and sceaming Sum 41. The band starts off with the song "Motivation" jumping and spinning in circles. Steve (the drummer) throws his sticks in the air and tries to catch them, but has no luck some even break. While Deryck is grabbing the microphone with all his might both legs spread out puching hard on the groud (so he stays up.) Cone (bass) is walking in circles and jumping up and down, he doesn't stop moving the whole concert. Dave is doing a mixture of what Cone and Deryck are doing. Moshpits are crazy and fans in the balcony are screaming the words to Sum 41 songs. The band seems to have their attention in the balcony they soon yell to four girls with Canadian flags (Gina, Natalie, Kari, an Silwia) "Hey we like your flages, we're from Canada how about you?" The girls responded with a lie "Yes!" It seemed the rest of the concert the bands eyes were focused on them. The crowd screams and the band starts playing again. Steve plays a five minute drum solo in one song and Deryck and Dave have a guitar off top waste time. The band then move on to the song "What We're All About" they need Steve (the drummer) for the song so Tommy Lee is put on drums and the crowd screams once more. During the song Steve stops putes his hand to his eyes and look strait up at Gina, Natalie, and their sisters. It seemed like he was trying to read their poster which read "Let Us On Stage!" After 11-13 songs the band ends and leaves. No one could believe the concert had ended, so everyone sat and screamed hopng for an encore. Finally the band walked on stage and played "Pain For Pleasure" as an ending good bye song. In this song instead of Steve playing drums Deryck plays and Steve gets to to be main singer. The concet ends. Everyone slowly leaves hoping it's not over then people suddenly remember if they hurry they can maybe catch the band in the lobby. Many people wasted time hoping to meet the band, but soon guards started coming out hearding everyone like cattle. Once out most caught their ride except for a special 20 who remembered the band had to leave somehow. There were guard rails by the back door where teens waited. After around 15 minutes Steve came out heavily guarded, tons of girls ran up to him including Gina, Natalie, and sisters. He came out and said he would be back but needed his pen then ran to the tour bus. Everyone sat for around 15 more minutes in disbelief he was coming back. Suddenly screams were heard girls ran up to Steve quickly for autographs. Pulling his hair and kissing him Steve said " I just washed my hands, stop touching me you guys are filled with germs." He said in his playfull voice. While signing autographs Steve taked about how his signature had to look like a funny monkey or ir was done wrong. Natalie (Canadian fan) stood and talked to Steve while he was giving autographs. After awhile Steve ran back into the concert doors. Then everyone began to wait for the second band member to come out. Around 15 minutes later every girls started screaming. It was Deryck comming outside, an he complained about being cold and ran to the bus. Gina (another Canadian fan) started chanting "Deryck" eveyone joined in but he still wouldn't come out. A few minutes later Deryck can out with a nice warm coat on. Eveyone ran to him and he not only signed autographs but took pictures with fans. He didn't talk because with out his microphone he's really shy. In pictures he never showed his teeth he just has a closed mouth smile. The rest of the story in unknown. I HAD FUN WITH SUM 41 WRITTEN BY: NATALIE POSADOWSKA Sum 41, Sum 41, Sum 41, those were the chants the crazy crowd was screaming, waiting for the group to come out. But before the guys of Sum 41 did, the opening bands were keeping the moshers (fans) busy. Autopilot Off was one of the opening bands, and man do they rock! Their music is awsome. They played for about an hour to 45 minutes and left, leaving the fans in shock by how good they can play. During intermission Gina Turco and I, went downstairs to check out the moshpits. No one was really moshing during the itermission because of course the music stopped, but the fans were still crazy. So while Gina and I checked out the gift shop, I noticed one of the guys from Autopilott Off signing autographs. Oh my God I thought to myself, how cool is this concert going to be? So we go up to the guys Chris (from Autopilot Off) and he starts asking us questions, and we starts to chat. He said he liked out tattooes on our arms (that said Sum 41 all over) We were so excited that this cutie was talking to us. They are such a cool down to earth band because they have these conversations with their fans for hours. How nice of them! So we had to leave because intermission was almost over. But befor we left we took a quick picture of the cuti, and we were so happy. When we wnet back to our seats another band called Goldfinger started performing, they were good but Autopilot Off was better. Goldfinger performed for about the same time as the other band and finished their show with the song "99 Red Ballons." Now the fans were really going crazy because they wanted Sum 41 right now and them. All of a sudden you hear their introduction that sounds like a devil speaking about their salute and about the band. The blue lights flickering and the fans are now really going mad (crazy.) All of a sudden you hear a loud crash and the band Sum 41 comes out. The fans are wild and ou night of fun was about to begin, YES! The guys opened up with the song "Motivation", followed by "Rythms" and the guys close up with the song "Fat Lip." The guys left the fan in awe! Our destination was to meet them . As the concert ended we waired in the bathtooms to waste time, because we knew that they guys wousky. And need some time to get their stuff together. As we go outside we start talking to a security guard who was really cool. He told us where to go to see the band come out and get autographs. We waired outside for 20 min. Then all of a sudden I hear girls screaming and pushing. I had no idea what was going on, until I turned around. And Oh My God as I looked I couldn't believe it! There was Steve signing autographs and taking pictures. So I walked by Steve and started talking to him (I'm dead serious.) I asked him a couple of questions and started taking pictures. I didn't get Steve's autograph because I saw that all the girls were getting jealous, cause Steve was talking to me, so the girls were pushing me away. I was real mad but then again happy because at least I got pictures os Steve. 20 minutes later, I was getting tired, but I could've waited outside for hours. A we look at the people around us the door opens, and guess who comes out? Deryck. I couldn't believe my eyes this is my favorite band member and here he is standing outside. I run up to him and start taking pictures. Le me tell you girls Deryck is really shy, (but that makes him even more cutier and hotter!) He didn't say a word untill I asked him if I could get a picture with him, and he said sure. AWWWW! Right there I couldn't believe what was happening I was so happy I was speechless. I got two pictures with him and even got my CD signed. After that we had to leave. We didn't get to meet Cone and Dave because the limo was waitling and we were long gome. But as long as I met Deryck I was satisfied. I will never forget that night. I remember after getting inside the limo I started crying because of joy. Our next mission is to meet and greet Cone and Dave. But we are saving that for another time! SUM 41 COVER AVRIL AND QUEENS, DIS KISS Cincinnati-With the exception of a few brief Eddie Van Hallen-style, vintage 1984 hammer-on solos from guitarist Dave Baksh, Sum 41 managed to keep their cheesy metal jones in check during the fourth show of the Does This Look Infected? tour. But, at the conclusion of their 75-minute headlining set Wednesday night at a sold-out, sweaty Boagrt's, the Canadian punkers broke the dam and went full retro metal on the unsuspecting crowd of teenage fans. When drummer Steve Jocz came out from behind his kit, passed his sticks off to singer Deryck Whbley and grabbed the microphone, you knew things were going to get read Motorhead, real fast. And they did. As the band bashed through "Pain For Pleasure," Jocz did his best metal maniac singer imitation, aided by Daksh's Dio-like falsetto wailing and chunky power chords. It was the perfect cap to a night of irreverent, pogoing pop punk during which Sum kept the crowd bouncing with a selection of their hits, nearly every track from their Does This Look Infected? album and snippets of songs by everyone from Queens Of The Stone Age to Avril Lavigne. Whith the stage glanked by a pair of tapestries with images of a frightwig-wearing woman, the quartet bounded out and jumped right into the new tune "Mr. Amsterdam," as singer Whibley worked the stage in his no-frills, black-on-black Dickies and long-sleeve T-shirt ensemble. With hardle a, "Hello, Cincinnati!," the band crashed through the new songs "my Direction" and "hyper-Insomnia-Para_Condroid" and their smash hit "Fat Lip" in less than six minutes, with Baksh and lanky bassist Con McCaslin sprinting back and forth across the stage, constantly changing places and bouncing in place. Whibley, Baksh, and McCaslin flawlessly spun and jumped in unison during "Lip," as Jocz did his patented punk rap on the breakdown. Diminutive singer Whibley strapped on a guitar the looked almost as big as his torso and did a dead-on impersonarion of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong on "All Messed Up," down to the phony British punk accent and the hyped-up, circus-barker delivery. Though he'd kept his notes in check up until that point, Baksh finally unleashed the fury for the first time during "In Too Deep," which mixed power pop punk with power chords, as the guitarist did some finger tapping on his fretboard and Cone uncorked a Poison-style bass swing around his neck. Whibley finally chatted up the audience midway through the set when he seemed disappointed that the crowd didn't fully appreciate his busting into Public Enemy's "911 Is A Joke" during "Makes No Difference." "You don't like that one, huh?" he sneered, launching a loogie onto stage left, "You like the rock? How's this?" The band then played the intro to Queens Of The Stone Age's "No One Knows," followed by the lead-in to pal and fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne's "Complicated," which brought a rain of boos. During a night in which Sum playfully copped the attitude and styles of everyone from Blue Oyster, Cult, Rancid, NOFX, and Motley Crue, Whibley paid respect to a different kind of hero during "Nothing On My Back," which featured a dead-on , song-ending take of Nirvana's "You Know You're Right." Toungue nearly jutting through cheek, Whibley introduced the expletive-laden homage to Anna Nicol Smith, "A.N.I.C.," as the "most personal song we've ever written." The speed punk tune blasted by in less than 25 seconds, making way for a tune that does deal with some real issues, the relatively sedate new single, "The Hell Song." Whibley again asked the crowd for some help picking a song to play, but whtn someone suggested something by 70's makeup mavens Kiss, the singer pointedly shouted, "Fuck Kiss!" The set ended with an, um, Kiss-like moment, as Whibley, Baksh and McCaslin swung their guitars side to side in perfect heavy metal time during their hit "Still Waiting." Whibley dropped his bratty stage persona for a brief second during the encore rendition of "Hooch," during which he crooned the lines, "I'll fall into you/But I don't believe that this is real," as if he were singing, well, let's be honest here, and Avril Lavigne song. The show oped with a set of melodic loud fast rules anthems from veteran punks No Use For A Name and relative newcomers The Starting Line and Authority Zero. MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS 2002 SUM 41 BIOGRAPHY The grand finale, the piece de resistance, the once fashionable RAWK love sign "four horns" has b affectionately laid to rest as the 41 salute (an Arrid Extra Dry commercial waiting to happen) harkens into the night sky. A sea of helpless mob mentality victims joining in unison and give rise to the darlings of the prankster spirit, Sum 41. It's not rocket science, it's not brain surgery, but with guidance from the band as to one's right and left hand, the 41 Salute has taken the live concert scene by storn in 2001, with any sign of respite in sight. With a passion for instant gratification, arm farts, jumping in tandem and interior decoration (hotel rooms are their forte) Bizzy D ( lead vocals, guitar), Dave Brownsound (guitar, vocals), Cone (bass) and Stevo32 (drums, vocals) administered a sonic wedgie to the mundane music scene and ran off with it like a kid stealing form the 7-Eleven, Sum 41's poison-a molotov cocktail of caraclysmic power punk-pop with just a blade of metal thrown in for good measure. All Killer, No Filler hocked a lougie into the social consciousness, skateboarding past double platinum sales in Canada, America, and the UK as well as gold in Japan. Grabbing the scene by the balls, the band has already had their malevolient butts shoved onto Saturday Night Live, MTV Awards and MTV's 20th Anniversary show where Sum patriots, Rob Halford and Tommy Lee joined them on stage for a tailgate medley of Fat Lip, infused with hair leasing Shout At The Devil, No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn and You've Got Another Thing Conin'. With a list of accomplishments as long as Robert Downie Jr's Rap sheet: *coveted a spot in Rolling Stone's "People Of The Year" issue *topped Rolling Stone's Year End Reader's Poll for 'Best Band', 'Best Album', 'Best Single', 'Best Video', 'Best Tour' * captured Spin Magazine's gold medals for 'Best Band', 'Best New Artist,' 'Best Song', 'Best Video', and of course a silver medal for 'sex god'-Bizzy D * stormed the #1 position on Much Music's 2001 Year End Countdown for In Too Deep (Fat Lip pullin up #8 * scooped the 2001 Much Music Video Awaed for Best Rock Video * captured the Canadian Radio Award for 'Best New Group' * currently scaling to the top with wheir single 'What We're All About (original version)' on the Spider-man soundtrack They've done time with Blink 182 (Edgefest 2 across Conada and tours in the US and UK), the Offspring, Social Distortion as well as Rancid, Pennywise on the North American Warp Tour. Gluttons for road rash, they spent the last part of 2001 headlining their own US tour "Tour Of The Rising Sum " with Unwritten Law and fellow Canuk pals Gob. 2002 has seen them complete a whirlwind world-wide tour that's taken them to Europe, the UK, Japan, New Zealand and Australia as well as the "Sum Like It Loud" tour across Canada and America with Autopilot Off, H2O and Goldfinger as openers. Sum 41's uproarious story starts out in the sleepy commuter town of Ajax, Ontario (45 minutes east of Toronto). Self-proclained high school 'dorks' Bizzy D and Stevo32, wened form their mothers' breast on a steady diet of heavy metal, spent their youth being arrested for vandalism and theft. A trip downtown to the 1998 Warp Tour stop in the T-Dot and community service went out the window in lieu of starting a band. One count of grand theft, they stole Cone and Dave Brownsound for their best friend's band, and the planets were aligned- like the Immaculate Conception, 41 days into summer vacation before Grade 12 and Sum 41 was born. With the gentle yet loving guidance of streetsmart manager, Greg Nori (Treble Charger frontman) and Nettwerk Management, the band turned over a new leaf and used their Juvenile Delinquent tendencies for good instead of evil. They signed a deal with Aquarius Records and delievered their debut CD, Half Hour of Power to the masses in June of 2000. Complete with a strip-joint CD release party, the band's single, Makes No Difference, made all the difference, pouring them onto modern rock across the country. A cover your eyes and shake your head homemade EPK, rabid with live show footage interspersed with super-soader drive-bys and pizza parlor shenanigans (did we say they'd beated the theft bug?) scored them the deal with Island/Def Jam south of the border and producer Jerry "Finnbad" Finn (Green Day, Blink 182) and engineer "Jesus" Joe McGrath were recruited as the hired guns to capture All Killer, No Filler. From the gutsy hip hot perils of Fat Lip to the pop-punched anthem of In Too Deep to the chiming attributes of Motivation, Sum 41's All Killer, No Filler's 32 minutes and 30 seconds all encompassing, no holds barred, lookin' down the barrel of a gun rock speaks volumes. Love 'em or hate 'em-even the most cynical of industry weasels on the velvetrope.com can't deny the menacing attration of Sum 41. Listen at your own risk-You'll swallow it whole. This band trashes, slashes and burns-they eat other bands for breakfast and spit out the remains. Their message..."Don't let the door hit you on your way out sucker." Bow down to Sum 41. SUM 41 SOBER UP ON DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED? When Sum 41 wrote last year's "All Killer No Filler," the bandmembers were all still in high school. Toilet-dunking bullies, drinking buddies, unrequited puppy love, impish practical jokes and weekend parites were what their lives consisted of, so that's what they sand about. But now they've toured the world, experienced some real-life trauma and tapped into current events (at least a little bit), so the boys in the band-singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley, guitarist Dave Baksh, bassist Cone and drummer Steve Jocz-are in a slightly differnent place, and as a result they're penning some harder, more sobering songs. There's sill a lot of humor on Sum 41's new "Does This Look Infected" (November 26), and the music is still exuberantly pop-punk, but there's a far more serious subtext than the band has ever exhibited. "A lof of stuff happened in the past year that opened our eye to new thing," Whibley said. "The whole last year has been really crazy around the world. There's been so much stuff going on and it's been so televised. I think we've all become more aware. When we were writing the last record everything was happy go lucky. Now this time we've seen a little bit more and our eyes have been opened up a little bit." The most personal track for Whibley is "Hell Song," about a friend of the band who recently contracted HIV. "It's one of my favorite songs on the record," Whibley said. "It's about this girl I used to date who I've known forever. Just last Christams she found that she was HIV positive, and it was so brutal. She doesn't sleep around. She's only had two or three boyfriends and one of them used to cheat on her all the time, and then he go it and gave it to her. It's the heaviest thing that's happened in our group of friends." "Still Waiting," another serious track, features the chorus "So am I still waiting for this world to stop hating/Can't find a good reason, can't find hope to believe in." Whibley wrote it after the events of September 11, 2001. "It's not directly about 9/11 or the war on terrorism," he said. "It's about the war on everything. It's about the world as we know it. It's no secret that the world doesn't get along and there's all this hatred. It's everything to do with how this world functons." "Mr. Amsterdam," another of Whibley's favorites is about the complacency of contemporary pop culture. "We depend so much on new technology to make sure that we don't have to do anything," Whibley groused. "Everything's being laid out so we can sit at home and do nothing and never leave our homes. You can order all your groceries from the computer. You can do anything you want. You can just sit there and become fatter. And I think that's bad." The caustic "No Brains" is about a former bandmember. "That's just a basic 'fuck you, I'm done' kind of song," Whibley said. "This guy was our old singer and I was best friends with him. We had this big falling out." In addition to ther serious tunes,"Does This Look Infected?" features a couple of songs about what Sum 41 know best. "Over My Head Better Off Dead" deals with those times when you can't remember what you did the night before. "It's not about being fucked up or drunk," Whibley said. "It's more about the aftermath when you're hearing everything you've just done the night before, and you're like,'Ah, fuck, I'm better off dead.' I don't regret any of the things I do and I don't mind doing them, I just hate hearing about it. Being told every morning, 'Dude, what did you do last night?' drives me nuts." Similarly, "All Messed Up" is about buring the candle at both ends and in the middle. "It's about those kinds of nights," Whibley said. "It's just about being really messed up and in that whole cracked-out kind of state." After a pause, he chuckled and realized aloud, "That seems to still be a recurring theme for us." SUM 41 BECOME FUN SORDID ONES AT NY CLUB GIG New York- "The last time we were here," declared Deryck Whibley from the stage, "two girls came up and made out." The pronouncement by Sum 41's singer/ guitarist Tuesday at CBGB was met with screams and raised hands, and indication that several fans were willing to partipate in a reenactment. "This time we have to top it," the adorable, spiky shorn frontman added, and approached bassist Cone McCaslin, tilted his head and parted his lips. Psych! Both pulled away at the last second. "No way!" they said in unison. The fourth stop on the band's Sum On Your Face club tour wasn't filled with such homoerotic near-misses, but the juvenile joke was a slice of the kind of fun Whibley, McCaslin, guitarist Dave Baksh and drummer Steve Jocz were having in the intimate setting (see "Sum 41 Ready For Intimate Sum On Your Face Tour"). Billed as a live preview of new songs such as "Over My Head, Better Off Dead," "Hell Song" and "All Messed Up" from their new album "Does This Look Infected?" due Nobember 26 (see "Sum 41 Ask, Does This Look Infected?"), the show served as a fitting playground for Sum 41 to boast confident punk skills while flaunting their inner metalheads. Baksh was first to cut loose with a behind-the-head guitar solo on set opener "Machine Fun," off 2000's "Half Hour Of Power," before closing the song with a guttural scream that would have made Cannibal Corpse proud. Opposing "Nothing on My Back" and other straightforward songs their fans adopted as anthems were those that served as vehicles on which to hand recognizable riffs from Judas Priest and Motley Crue. Iron Maiden, whose signature guitar scales greatly influence "Does This Look Infected?" recerived the greatest homage when their classic "The Trooper" was given a honorable send-up. Even the Strokes got skewered when Sum 41 launced into the Tom Petty-purloined bridge from "Last Nite," whose video is the target of Sum 41's parodic clip for Infected's first single "Sill Waiting" (see "Sum 41 Spoof Strokes, Stripes,Vines in 'Still Waiting'video." On their three records, Sum 41 use time-tested punk elements like jabbing stomps and whoa-whoa choruses to engage their audience, and their live shows are no different. The problem Tuesday was that not everyone at the show was receptive to the bait. Sure, "special" New York fifs are notorious for being filled with distracted members of the music industry, but considering that the only way attendees obtained their tickets was through Sum 41's Web site and the local rock radio station, the overall level of enthusiasm was surprisingly low. When Whibley called for a "41 Salute"-four raised fingers on one hand, and only the middle digit standing tall on the other- only the first three or four rows heeded his words. Excitement surged, naturally, for the singles. Even the casual fan, industry personnel or a parent chaperoning their 16-year-old pogo-ing peak, "In Too Deep," and "Fat Lip," which fostered a sing-along for the slacker mantra, "Don't count on me" in the song's bridge. After fulfilling a request for "Half Hour Of Power's" "Makes No Difference" as an encore, Whibley thanked the crowd and informedn them that "All She's Got" would be Sum 41's last song of the evening. Though another tune was rendered, Whibley wasn't lying. "Pain for Pleasure," by Sum's alter ego Pain for Pleasure, featuring Jocz and Whibley swapping instruments, closed the set with metallic mastery. Jocz's soaring vocals climbing way up in the operatic register, and the show ended fittingly tongue-in-cheek-even if not everyone in the room thought the flavor funny. SUM 41 READY FOR INTIMATE SUM ON YOUR FACE TOUR No, Ron Jeremy won't be emceeing the proceedings and Jenna Jameson won't be dancing on stage, but Sum 41's Sum On Your Face Tour will provide select fans an opportunity to see the band's rock-hard stuff in an up-close and intimate setting. All dates on the 17-show tour, which begins October 31 in Dallas, have been booked at Dallas, have been booked at small clubs and the only way to purchase tickets is through the band's official Web site, starting Saturday. The mini-tour will hit markets on both coasts as wee as the South and the Midwest. The last date will be November 30 in San Diego. Following Sum on Your Face, the band will embark on a major world tour at larger venues. Sum 41 will be touring to support the release of their third record, "Does This Look Infected?", out November 26 (see "Sum 41 Ask, Does This Look Infected?"). For vocalist and guitarist Deryck Whibley, being back on the road is what it's all about. "I think the reward come from playing live," he said. "That's my favorite part of being in a band- I think that should be everyone's favorite part of being in a band. I mean, it's like you're traveling around, it's a free vacation, going from city to city, staying in posh hotels and just playing for tons of kids that are supporting you. It's amazing to see someone other than you like your music." SUM 41 SPOOF STROKES, STRIPES, VINES IN 'STILL WAITING' VIDEO With songs like "Fat Lip" and "Motivation," Sum 41 developed a reputation for cheekiness and tomfoolery. Theri new album doesn't exactly transform them into tree-hugging enviromentalists or pulpit-preaching activists,but it shows the bandmembers leaning toward maybe growing up just a little... kinda. Many song on "Does This Look Infected?" due November 26, aren't about downing brews, scamming chicks or teenage angst. Instead, Sum 41 singer and lyricist Deryck Whibley addresses issues a little more sobering. "I guess I watched too much CNN while making this record," he said. "Also, I guess I'm getting older. When you're young you have an excuse to be stupid, but as you grow up it's good to learn about everything that's going on." "Still Waiting," the first single on "Does This Look Infected?." addresses political turmoil in a way reminiscent of many '70s punk band. "So am I still waiting for this world to stop hating?/Can't find a good reason, can't find hope to believe in," Whibley sings on the song's chorus. "I don't know, man," he said. "It just seems to be one of those things that I don't think will get better. And if it does get better, it's going to get a lot worse first. I'm not blaming anybody or putting anybody at fault or saying who's better or worse. I think overall it's hard for everyone, but I don't think it will ever get resolved." Musically, the song is more metallic than most of the tracks on last year's "All Killer, No Filler," but punk-pop fans will be pleased to know that- regardless of the group's affinity for Iron Maiden- the song is a far cry from "Number of the Beast." The tune starts with a punchy serrated rhythm and incisive guitar iff, then shifts into a shouted verse reminiscent of the Offspring. But by the chorus Sum 41 have hit a melodic groove filled by churning guitars and an infectious vocal hook. "We've always liked mixing styles," Whibley said. "We did it with 'Fat Lip' ot some of our other songs where we were trying to do hip-hop and punk rock. [This time] we just wanted to do metal and melodic rock. It's my favorite song on the record." A video for the song was shot last week by Mark Klasfeld, who worked with the band on theri "In Too Deep" and "Fat Lip" videos. Like "Fat Lip," it depicts the band acting up and rocking out without a script or a saftey net. "We're kind of the anti-treatment band," Whibley said. "We just show up and tape a bunch of stuff and see what happens. That style worked so well for us when we did our first video, for 'Fat Lip,' that we decided we should do that all the time. It's so off-the-cuff it ends up being better." In addition to jokingly mugging the camera and sporting punk poses, Sum 41 spoof the current crop of "it" bands, including the Hives, the Strokes, the Vines and the White Stripes. "When it comes down to it, we just like having a laugh." Whibley said. "To us, nothing's sacred." SUM 41 ASK, DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED? Sum 41 has a question for their fans, and it's one that every skater who'd ever carried the wonds of a wipeout has posed. "Does This Look Infected?", the band's second album, is set for release November 26, according to an Island Records spokesperson. The album was recorded in New York in July with producion duties handled by their manager Greig Nori, who also produced their 2000 EP, "Half Hour Of Power." The follow-up to last year's "All Killer, No Filler," which has sold more than 1.6 million copies to date, according to SoundScan, was mixed by Andy Wallace (Limp Bizkit, Korn). Guided by the influence of bands such as Metallica and Iron Maiden, singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley, bassist Cone McCaslin, drummer Steve Jocz and guitarist Dave Baksh promised their album will be decidedly more metal than their previous releases, likening it's feel to the speedy grind of "Pain For Pleasure," the final cut on All Killer. "It's a bit of a different sound," Whibley explained. "It's a bit harder of a sound. It still sounds like Sum 41, but it's a little bit harder, better songs. In the past few years, we've done so much, we're grown a bit. We're better players." Before "Does This Look Infected?" hit's stores, the EP's first single, "Still Waiting," will surfave at radio beginning October 8. A video is expected to be shot in two weeks. As their past videos for "Fat Lip" and "In Too Deep" have shown, the members of Sum 41 have senses of humor to match their riffs. Devising such goofiness is a group effort. "What we do for every vido is we sit around and brainstorm a bunch of ideas." Whibley explained. "Us, the director, people from the record company... and we just come up with as many ideas as we can." A headlining tour to support "Does This Look Infected?" is expected in November, although prior to its launch Sum 41 will share the stage on November 2 at the fourth annual Voodoo Music Experience with No Doubt, 311, Jurassic 5 and Jack Johnson, among others (see "No Doubt, Sum 41, Nappy Roots Do That Voodoo"). SUM 41 TESTING THEIR METAL As precious studio time ticks away, Sum 41 are nowhere to be found. Deryck Whibley, Dave Baksh, Cone McCaslin and Steve Jocz, who've been holed up on Manhattan's West Side for three weeks recording their next album, have only got seven days to emerge from the studio with at least a rough cut if the record is to be in stores by November. When they finally do stroll in-sporting T-shirts and bedheads, save for drummer Jocz's closely sheared dome- they're not worried. Their confidence stems from their desire to get right down to business. The four guys plop down on a comfy couch, and, with feet planted on the newly waxed coffee table, begain to examine a huge binder thick with enough laminated takeout menus to satisfy the diverse cravings of the finicky rock stars who've recorded here before. After rattling off cuisine ranging from Middle Eastern kabobs and Thai food to burgers and fries, a health kick strikes. "Is there a fresly squeezed juice place?" bassist McCaslin wonders. "That sounds like a Christina Aguilera studio experience," he adds, acknowledging his rather un-punk preference. "Here's 'The Juice Bar,'" Jocz points out, "but they only have two kinds of juice! What's up with that? Look, this place isn't even called 'The Juice Bar,' and they've fot five different kinds. This place is kick-ass. I'm going here." "No, it's a bad place," singer Whibley advises. "I've been there twice." "What's so bad about it?" "It just sucks. How about this place? It's got shakes and malts-" "Shakes and malts aren't juice, dude," Jocz interrupts. "Dude, they are so juice," Whibley retorts. "Milk is considered juice." Well, apparently Sum 41 are in no rush to put their noses to the grindstone. It this what a typical day in the studio is like for these guys? "You're lookin' at it," Whibley confirns. "We sit around all day on this couch, order food, talk about stuff that we should be doing-" "And then go in, take a stab at it and come back out for dinner," guitarist Baksh adds matter-of-factly. When they reveal that only a fraction of the new album, their follow-up to last year's platinum "All Killer, No Filler," has been completed and that lyrics to entire songs still need to be written, what initially came off as a goof become believeable. Would they be able to beat the clock and finish their make-or-break record in just a few days? Sum 41 is now on a Pepsi Commercial. First Britney Spears and now Sum 41? Welcome to the Pepsi Generation. Watching Deryck and the boys chug back, spew out, and spit out copious amounts of cola on the recent Sum 41 DVD makes the 2002 Pepsi Taste Tour and ideal event for the notorious pranksters to be involved with. Pepsi might even provide the band with unlimited amounts of the fuzzy brown liquid to do whatever they please with. If they're smart, they won't. God only knows what could happen? The annual Pepsi event is giving Sum 41 a chance to headline a tour that will cross Canada from Vancouver all the way over to Halifax. All the shows are invitation-only, which means that fans whowant to see the band will have to paricipate in various Pepsi-sponsored activites to win tickets. If you're thinking about trying to get tickets to see Sum 41 on the Pepsi Tour, there are a couple of ways you can get them. Sum fans can catch the Pepsi Taste Challenge in Ontario and B.C. where they can win tickets to the show or, if your luck is down that day, other prizes such as CD or DVD players. If you're stuck in the Praires, Quebec, or Halifax, don't worry, the Pepsi Fan Can will swing around to your town and you can win a limo ride, tickets, and backstage passes. Check back with the Pepsi website for info on other ways to win and news as to when the Fan Can (we love saying that) will be in your area. |
Your experiences at a Sum 41 concert. If you have a concert review you would like to submit email me at: sum41_islandrecords@hotmail.com |
