[ WEEKEND ]
COURTESY OF SUM 41
The kids are alright: Dave Baksh (left), Steve Jocz, Deryck Whibley and Cone McCaslin adds up to Sum 41.
More than the
Sum of partsAn MTV gig won't stop
the band's Hawaii visit
WHEN Canadian punksters Sum 41 released their major label debut, "All Killer No Filler," two years ago, the four high school buddies from a suburb outside Toronto weren't looking to do much more than rock out on a bigger scale than what they'd been used to.
Sum 41
With local opening band No Bare FeetWhere: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St.
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Tickets: $20, all ages
Call: 526-4400
Songs like "Fat Lip" and "In Too Deep" dealt with typical issues facing teens everywhere -- lyrics like "Well, I'm a no-goodnik lower middle class brat / Back-packed and I don't give a s#@t about nothing," and "I don't want to waste my time / And become a casualty of society / I'll never fall in line / Become a victim of your conformity" helped establish the band's "just screw it" attitude with fans and critics alike. Since its release, "All Killer No Filler" has sold over 3 million copies.
At first glance, the band doesn't seem to grow up much on the new album, "Does This Look Infected?" But spend some time actually listening to what vocalists Dave Baksh and Deryck Whibley are saying, and it becomes apparent that these guys have matured a bit after almost two straight years on the road.
"Right now, it seems like this is the best album we could have made at the time," said Sum 41 drummer Steve Jocz via telephone last month as he and the guys prepared for a show in Anaheim, Calif., with No Use For a Name and The Starting Line. "We just didn't want to make another poppy-sounding record.
"We saw what was going on with bands like Simple Plan and New Found Glory ... they're really like emotional and sensitive, and none of us are like that. We just wanted to make a more honest record."
SUM 41 keeps it real on the new album by concentrating on what made them popular in the first place. Pounding guitar riffs and catchy melodies are a staple on both "All Killer No Filler" and "Does This Look Infected?", but Jocz admits the group tried to get back to its heavy metal roots on its sophomore release.
"I'd say it's harder," the drummer (also known as Stevo Dirty Poo) said. "There's sort of a natural progression that was kind of intended at the same time ... our attitude hasn't changed much since we've started."
Drawing on the influence of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and the rock star lifestyle they've become accustomed to, Baksh, Jocz, Whibley and bass player Cone McCaslin present slightly more grown-up lyrics on tracks like "The Hell Song," "Hyper-Insomnia-Para-Condrioid" and "Still Waiting."
"We're not trying to make it something it's not," Jocz said. "We're still writing for us first."
COURTESY OF SUM 41
Sum 41.
"The Hell Song," for example, is the band's take on a friend's revelation for being diagnosed HIV-positive. On "Still Waiting," Whibley tries to make sense of the differences between people in society with lyrics like "So am I still waiting for this world to stop hating / Can't find a good reason, can't find hope to believe in."
THE PLAN for Sum 41's visit to Honolulu next week originally included some time for the guys to rest and recharge before heading off to shows in Japan, Canada, and Germany over the next few months. But an invitation to participate in MTV's "Icon" tribute to Metallica, taping tomorrow in Los Angeles, changed those plans.
"We were supposed to have a week off in Hawaii, which was going to be great, but the MTV 'Icon' thing is happening (when) we were supposed to have off," said Jocz. "So instead of a week, we're only going to be in Hawaii for a day.
"But we wanted to do it. We thought it would be cool ... we all love Metallica."
With recent experiences like an invitation to perform at a Metallica tribute, winning the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy Award for "Group of the Year," and a recent appearance in Rolling Stone next to Playboy playmate Audra Lynn under their belts, Sum 41 still has a hard time every once in a while comprehending just how far they've come in a few short years. For Jocz, having the opportunity to fly to Hawaii and perform in front of their fans is a trip in itself without even having to get on a plane.
"The fact that we have fans now is just crazy," he admits. "Because we've really never had any before!"
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