Island Def Jam The Canadian pop-punk band Sum
41 will be releasing its second album “All Killer,
No Filler” from Island Def Jam Records on May 8.
By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Staff
At first glance, the unknowing observer might think that Sum 41
is composed of inexperienced kids, entering for the first time into
the wild and unpredictable world that is rock music.
In truth, however, the Canadian pop-punk foursome has been
touring since its members were in 10th grade, and its newest
release, “All Killer, No Filler,” due out May 8, is its
second from the Island Def Jam label.
The band members are young, ranging in age from 19 to 21, a fact
that belies their experience and has at times proven to be an
obstacle while on the road.
“A lot of times promoters treat you a little differently
because you’re younger. People don’t take you
seriously,” said Deryck Whibley, Sum 41’s lead singer,
in a phone interview while traveling to Bakersfield. “But
that was before. Now we’ve played a lot so we know a lot of
the people. So when we come through town, like at a club, everyone
knows us already, now.”
The band’s youthful image is augmented by its reputation
as pranksters, earned through its exploits on the road.
Guitarist Dave Baksh said his favorite incident involved some
unlucky sunbathers under their balcony at the Grafton on Sunset in
West Hollywood.
“We went to the Pink Dot grocery store across the street
and bought some condoms and some milk, and we filled up the condoms
with the milk and threw the condoms full of milk onto the
sunbathers. Needless to say, we didn’t get their phone
numbers,” drummer Steve Jocz said.
The impression given by these antics, of a band letting loose
during its first time on the road, is contradicted by
Whibley’s insistence that the tours the band members are
playing now haven’t drastically changed their way of
life.
“It’s pretty much the same. We’ve been touring
for a long time, so even before we came into the States to tour, we
kind of knew what we were getting into. We’re just touring a
lot more now than we did,” he said.
Even the nights of alcohol and parties, so frequently associated
with the life of a band on tour, are nothing new to Sum 41.
“I don’t think it’s something that we’re
getting into now, I think it’s something we’ve always
been into. In Canada, where we’re from, you start drinking
when you’re like 14 so it’s kind of a way of life
there,” Whibley said.
This same nonchalance permeates even an encounter with
Offspring, which led to Sum 41’s scheduled shows with that
band in late April and early May.
The two bands met at Offspring singer Dexter Holland’s
house last year for a Fourth of July party. They got along and Sum
41 was added to the tour for a few dates.
The ease with which Sum 41 seems to have assimilated into the
life of nonstop, nation-crossing touring is due to the
members’ long friendship and determination, according to
bassist Cone.
“We were all best friends in high school and we get along
really well, and we have always wanted to be in a band and on tour,
so it’s like a dream of ours that we wouldn’t let
go,” Cone said.
Whibley doesn’t pretend that the band’s success is
due to any remarkable proficiency with its instruments. In fact, no
one in the band ever took lessons.
“We just kind of learned on the way. We’re still
learning now. We just learned from playing with each other for so
many years,” Whibley said.
“I wish I was better. I wish I took lessons. But right now
I’m just sticking to three chords,” he added.
Nor does Sum 41 have any pretensions to changing today’s
music. It is a pop-punk band, pure and simple, that concentrates on
playing the type of music it likes to listen to.
“We’re not really trying to set a new standard or
anything, we’re just contributing to the scene, bringing what
we can. We play the music which makes us happy,” he said.
Sum 41’s laid-back attitude, however, doesn’t stop
it from being excited about its second release from Island Def Jam.
Its first, an EP called “Half Hour of Power,” was half
an hour long, the length of its entire set at the time.
With the release of “All Killer, No Filler,” also
clocking in at just over half an hour, the band has doubled its
material.
“Just a year and a half ago we didn’t have any
albums and now we have two albums, which is really exciting,”
Whibley said. “I can’t wait for this new one to come
out. We can play for like an hour now.”
MUSIC: Sum 41’s new album, “All
Killer, No Filler,” from Island Def Jam will be in stores May
8.