Category Archives: articles

New information about Simple Plan exhibition in Montreal

by Dominika | Nov 6th, 2012 | no comments

As it was previously announced, from November till March, the Montreal Science Center is holding an exhibition about the influence that music can have on people called Musik, which will be featuring a special exhibit on Simple Plan, as a part of the celebrations regarding their 10th anniversary since the release of their debut album.

The Metro newspaper published a very interesting article about this exhibit today and reveals more information about the actual Simple Plan exhibit.

Here you can read an English translation of an excerpt from the article that Sab sent to me (and you can check out the full version of it in the gallery):

[…] Simple Plan fans of all ages will be able to enjoy the adventure. During the whole exhibition, all the members of the popular band from Quebec are staring at you from video-recorded sequences. In one on them, Jeff Stinco, the guitar player, encourages the on-lookers to try and play the guitar with him. “It takes practice, but you can do it too!” he says before he shows us the chords to play “I’m Just a Kid” or “Welcome To My Life”. We can actually practice with him thanks to an instrument set in front of the screen.

Furthermore, the fans of Pierre, Chuck, David and Sébastien will certainly be in heaven when the enter the last room of the journey, where they can view some of the artefacts donated by the band. They can discover handmade posters made by the guys back when the band was still called Reset, notebooks filled with ideas for the “Perfect” music video or letters from fans who thank the band for having helped them through tough moments. Such as Laura from France, 14 years old, who writes: “Alala Chuck! You rock the drums, I admire you!”

Kathleen Lavoie talks first encounters of SP members and first show

by Dominika | Nov 4th, 2012 | no comments

Another article on La Presse talks more about Kathleen Lavoie’s involvement with the Simple Plan book (thanks Charbel for letting me know).

In the article, Kathleen (who is a jopurnalist) says that three years ago she approached the guys from Simple Plan for the first time about turning their story into a book, but at that time they thought it was too early in their career to have a biography out. Yet she persisted and last year at the soundcheck for their concert for Best Buy in Quebec, they finally told her they were willing to do it.

Kathleen is very familiar with Simple Plan ever since their first album came out in 2002. She even accompanied the musicians on the road in 2005, during a series of concerts in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Chicoutimi and Rimouski.

Yet she still managed to discover some surprising things – for example how exactly have Pierre and Chuck become friends: apparently the friendship started when the boys were 12 years old and all because of a t-shirt of a rock band that one of them was wearing at school during PE, which was the only time it was allowed at their high school.

To complete the story, Kathleen needed to be very precise about all the information. For example it took her a while to figure out the date of the first concert of the band, when they still included only four members (David was still in Reset), but were already called Simple Plan. Turns out the first Simple Plan show (without David) was on January 22nd 2000.

“There were no printed tickets for that show. The band opened for Bald Vultures to shoot a video they would show the agents. Finding the right date took us two weeks!”

La Presse reveals two images from the Simple Plan book

by Dominika | Nov 4th, 2012 | 1 comment

The publisher of the Simple Plan book – La Presse – posted quite an interesting article about the book and sums up the history of the band. In the article, Chuck also mentions the fight between him and Pierre that broke them off for a while in the times of Reset (way before Simple Plan has been formed).

“We are still pretty uncomfortable talking about it, because it was a big fight that lasted a year and a half or two years. We could have decided not to speak, but I would say that for me, personally, this may be an incident that taught me the most. I often think about it, because it taught me that because of your ego, excessive pride, anger and badly-chosen words, it is possible to lose precious things in our lives and destroy something fantastic.“

You can read the full French article here .

And the link below will lead you to the gallery where you can check out a full version of two pictures published by La Presse within the article, that should be included in the book:

Simple Plan expect 5th album to be out by 2014

by Dominika | Jul 26th, 2012 | no comments

In a very interesting new article posted by Le Journal de Montreal that also posted this awesome picture of Simple Plan from a 2011 photoshoot that can be seen on the left (and in its original size in the gallery), Sebastien discusses the band’s current success with their latest single “Summer Paradise” and also talks more about a couple other topics.

For instance, it is mentioned in the interview that the band may release their fifth album either in late 2013 or early 2014. But let’s be more realistic, it will most probably be in late 2014. As Sebastien mentioned in the interview, the band doesn’t want to be pressured by any deadlines: “There is no deadline. We will write during all 2013. We would like to release it as soon as possible, but we need time to write it. The band also might like to take some time to rest before working on the new record. And I think we will need that, believe me!”

Another very interesting topic that has been mentioned in the article was the way Simple Plan choose where to play next. The band already knows that by the end of this year (counting new places in South America and probably also Europe), it will reach 50 countries that they have visited in their career. Yet the band is still aware of some limitations they have when it comes to countries they can visit: mostly it always depends on how their records sell in that particular country and/or how well their songs are doing on the local radios. For example Greece is mentioned in the article as a country that prefers techno over pop-rock, making it hard for a band like Simple Plan to go play a show there, because naturally the tickets would not sell. “There are places where we never sold a single record, where we just do not sell at all. There are countries that we visited for the first time and we do not know if we’ll ever come back,” admits Sebastien.

So here is a clue for all of you: if you want Simple Plan to come to your country, make sure to call the radio stations, get the records, make other people listen to it too and just spread the word. That’s how you can help the most.

Jeff Stinco on the life in Montreal

by Dominika | Apr 23rd, 2012 | no comments

An online lifestyle magazine Urban Expressions recently interviewed Simple Plan’s lead guitarist, Jeff Stinco, about his relationship with the city of Montreal.

You can check it out here:

Where were you born?
I’m originally from Pierrefonds, but as a teenager, I escaped the boredom of the suburbs by taking three buses to the city as often as I could. I moved to the Plateau when I was 18.

Which neighbourhood is your favourite?
I live in Old Montreal, but I feel closest to Mile End where I lived the longest, though Griffintown is really coming into its own right now. Between the Drinkerie, The Burgundy Lion and Liverpool House -the healthy mix of Anglos/Francos and the good music, it rocks.

What’s your favourite street in Montreal and why?
The most iconic and colourful street in Montreal is St-Laurent. We don’t call it ‘The Main’ for nothing. That being said, St-Viateur is probably my favourite street: bagels, cute little shops, great coffee, and the best chocolate in town … it’s all there.

Where do you go to dance?
I don’t really ‘dance’, but on Friday and Saturday nights there’s a little neighbourhood bar called Philemon in Old Montreal that turns into a pumping party place. I love how eclectic the crowd is: gay, straight, moustaches, bald … and no “Jersey Shore” approved t-shirts allowed!

Where do you like to eat out in Montreal?
For upscale, I think the best restaurant in Montreal is Le Club Chasse et Pêche. I have had killer ‘surf and turf’ there! For casual, I love Pizzeria Magpie, and for brunch Le Cartet in Old Montreal does a heavy Québécois breakfast AND a west coast-ish healthy plate really well. I try to make a pit stop there every time I return home.

Who is your favourite Montreal personality?
Leonard Cohen on the Anglo side, and Danny Laferriere on the Franco side – his books are evocative little gems!

Which Montreal event/festival do you look forward to all year?
I’ve never been around for Osheaga, but I’d love to check it out, the line-ups are always spectacular. And of course the jazz festival is a must.

Where do you go to relax in Montreal?
I often go for a run on the mountain. It’s not super busy on weekday mornings and I feel like I’m in the country, yet I’m only five minutes away from downtown!

What is your most cherished Montreal memory?
My first Bell Center show with Simple Plan was quite memorable. Our bassist, David, lived right by the Bell Center when we started out, and we often spoke about playing that place for years. It was a magical moment for all of us when we actually did.