Festivent: Simple Plan 2.0
On the phone, the guitarist Jeff Stinco is overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Simple Plan started recording their 4th album, expected for early 2011. And these days, the punk-rock band from Montreal uses the stage to renew with the exuberance from its early career. Moreover, the band will play a first extract (You Suck @ Love) at the show at Festivent from Levis, on August 6th. But real fans already know that, thanks to the social networks.
“They heard it on YouTube. People on the front rows know the lyrics and the punches – even more than I do,” laughs the guitarist. “It’s fascinating.” Jeff Stinco and his band mates are big users of Twitter and YouTube. They notice that the social networks revolutionised the way to interact with their public.
But there is a danger. “You must be careful not to be influenced too much. You have to remember that, basically, you make music for yourself, to express yourself and to evolve as a musician. Yet, we learnt that we aren’t forced to reinvent the band everytime.”
Target hit
The band found a recipe that is enjoyed by the public. They sold more than seven millions copies of their three albums. Especially the firsts two of them (No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls, in 2002, and Still Not Getting Any…, in 2004) that hit the target.
Simple Plan revisit their catalogue, not to copy themselves, insists Stinco, but also to look for ideas that was not accomplished and that the band wants to pursue forward. “For now, I don’t have enough perspective. But during our first session, we selected 12 very up-beat songs, very rock, with big melodies. It’s more joyful than our 3rd album [self-titled], which was a little more introspective.”
Another session of a dozen songs is to come, with the producer Brian Howes (Boys Like Girls, Hedley) because Simple Plan has a “good problem”: too many songs, between 50 and 60. “It’s hard; it’s like picking up something instead of something else that’s exactly the same. It’s tough to make a choice. We have no contesting yet. Sometimes, we just have no answer. After these sessions, we’re gonna take time to settle down and then choose.”
In the meantime, Simple Plan plays shows between these recording sessions. Not because they need to, unlike some other bands which multiply their appearances in festivals to compensate the reduction of discs selling. “Our aim, from the beginning of our career, was to play in the more places as we could, all around the world. On the other hand, it’s gonna cause some problems: people can’t go to 20 gigs a week! There will be a selection.”
The background of the industry.
As a result, Simple Plan is set in the background of the industry. “It all becomes only negative things and you loose the reason why you make music.” Jeff Stinco does not know much about this subject. Despite the sells’ fall, “you have more ways to get connections with the fans [at the shows and with the social networks]. If you focus on these elements, everything goes better than never. Honestly, we play our cards right.”
All the more, the guys have a control on their music and on what we will find on this fourth album. This independence, and the huge presence of the spectators at the shows, make that “our energy on stage has never been better”.
An increased enthusiasm to the prospect to play outside, such as next Friday. “During the Summer, you want to be outside. Our band was born with this culture that we try to reproduce everywhere. There’s something magic with it. It’s like a concert in a venue, but multiplied by 10. Moreover, for us, one of our best shows was on the Plains of Abraham [on July 1st 2008, in front a sea of people]. It was magnificent, incredible.”
Jeff Stinco emphasizes that festivals remind him of the megagigs from his youth, such as Rock in Rio or these of Metallica. “I really loved it. We aren’t at this level, but we play in festivals. There’s something really special.”
Simple Plan come in Levis after they got the show into shape in the US, last weeks. The band will be in good shape: it is promising.
Chuck
15th September 2010 // 
After the return from two festivals in Europe, the guys from Simple Plan headed back to Canada – particularly to Vancouver, where they continue to record their 4th studio album. According to Jeff, the band should stay in the studio at least for another month and half (and the album is still scheduled to be released sometimes in spring 2011).
This week, canadian news server Cyberpresse made a phone interview with Jeff Stinco from Simple Plan about the new album that the guys are currently recording and since Simple Plan are playing a show at canadian Festivent next week, the topic of festivals was also mentioned in the interview. Here is the English translation (thanks to Sab) of the French article:
