I know you guys have been around for a while and a lot is going on for you recently but if you were to cover another band on this tour to start, who would it be and what song?
Pierre: I’d probably cover a Third Eye Blind song.
Sebastien: Yeah, Third Eye Blind song.
Pierre: Because they’re the coolest!
Sebastien: Yeah, they’ve got a lot of great songs over the years. It would be fun to do a whole set of just like our favorites. That would be great. The classics!
Pierre: I would do ‘Motorcycle Drive By’.
Sebastien: Yeah that one! ‘Graduate’ for sure, ‘Jumper’. Any thing off the Blue record.
Pierre: What song would you cover?
Sebastien: Oh I would just pick a set list.
Pierre: Look at you!
Then like you said before the roadshow comes to an end tonight, but it’s been a while since you’ve toured the US. How is it to be back? See these audiences again?
Pierre: It’s awesome. It’s cool to see kids that we haven’t seen in a long time. People that we actually, we remember from those shows. Like hey it’s been five years. It’s pretty amazing. I think it’s good for us and we’ve been around the world so much and doing more stuff internationally that it’s good to come back here and hit up the US again.
Sebastien: Yeah no we’ve always had fun touring here and it’s just a little ten day trip but I believe it’s an idea of what’s to come on this next record touring wise.
I know you have a new record coming out. Is it finished or still a work in progress?
Pierre: The songs are all ready to go. We just have to go in to the studio to record it.
That’s exciting! What can fans look forward to with this new record since it has been a while since the last record?
Sebastien: Actually, it’s a fun record you know. I think it’s a little bit of a mix of everything we’ve ever done before so it’s definitely a lot of energy, young and fun but also it’s an evolution at the same time and it’s going to be great. We’re playing a new song on this tour. A song called “You Suck At Love” and I think it’s really representative of what we’re doing with this next record.
How do you normally go about the writing process? Is it one person, is it more collective?
Pierre: Well Chuck and I do most of the initial writing and like the melody and lyrics and all of that. The rest of us get together and then that’s where it all comes together. Work on parts, make it real!
What was the first CD you bought as a kid?
Sebastien: CD? The first CD for me was Offspring’s “Smash”. That was the first one I bought. I think I got this like whole case of Metallica cd’s from my dad but Offspring was the first.
Pierre: I think it was a Lagwagon cd. Lag wagon’s “Duh” and it was an import. It was an import so it was like 24 dollars at the record store. It was weird.
The line up has never changed for this band-
Pierre: Yep! Same band from the beginning.
Sebastien: That is rare! Ten years!
Very. So being a band for ten years and being together for so long, how do you think you’ve matured being the same group of people with all of this success?
Pierre: I think we just learn more about ourselves every year. We learn how to just pick our battles and when something isn’t really that important to you to not fight about it. Also, just understand what we all want to do as a band instead of what we all personally want. You can’t be like ‘Oh I don’t want to do this show’ ‘I don’t want to do this’. We’re good at realizing what’s best for the band.
And then with this new record, is there going to be more touring like you said?
Pierre: Absolutely! A lot more in the US. We kind of feel like we maybe neglected the US with the last record because we were so busy going around the rest of the world. We really couldn’t find a good tour to do here so this time around we’re definitely going to put more emphasis on the US. Really kind of come back to our fans who have been waiting for a long time. We’re neighbors! It’s easy. We should come visit more often.
Sebastien: Canada’s just like another state.
Pierre: Yeah.
Over the years, you have done a lot of touring. What’s one of the crazier things you’ve seen?
Sebastien: Something that’s always very crazy is when we go to Mexico or South America. We try to do signings but people are very intense. Very crazy there and sometimes when we drive away from the venue, they’ll follow us. Running after the cars, banging on the windows. It’s surreal you know. It makes you feel like the Beatles almost. The running of the bulls. Have you ever seen that movie 28 Days Later? It’s like that movie except they aren’t zombies, they’re kids and they don’t want to eat our brains.
Then when you started this band, did you ever think you were going to get to this point you’re at today?
Pierre: I didn’t think so. I thought we would be pretty big in Canada, like putting on pretty good shows in our area. That would be cool, that would be awesome. I never though it would be that wide spread around the world.
Sebastien: No, it’s always like you can dream about it but you never say kids are going to love us but when it does happen it’s amazing.
On this tour, we had both old and new with you guys, Third Eye Blind and Good Charlotte but also newer bands like All Time Low and Boys Like Girls. Did you learn anything from the younger guys or other older bands on this tour?
Pierre: I think definitely the younger bands kind of take your hand and guide you. They’re really giving a good show out there, putting on all the youthful energy of like one of those first big tours and we’re like ’hey, we used to be like that. Maybe we should crank it up a bit’.
Sebastien: Yeah no definitely. I think it sort of reminds us of when we were starting out as a band as well. Just sort of giving it all you got and it sort of makes you feel like we might be getting older. We’ve been around for a while but we still got to go for it! ¨
Well I think that’s all I have for you guys. You’re fast talkers!
Sebastien: We’re quick.
Pierre: We rehearsed!
Sebastien: (laughs) We had your questions forwarded!
It was last December, when we have informed you about Marc Normandeau, a Canadian boy, who because of his own experiance with cancer, decided to build his own foundation against this very illness. The boys from Simple Plan have visited Marc many times in the past and also agreed to attend the All Star Golf Tournament which Marc’s foundation organised on August 2nd.
Not a long time ago, a protest against horse-drawn carriages took place in Canada. The march was organised by the alliance MassacreAnimal.org, which is against any sort of cruel actions against animals. Pierre, along with his girlfriend Lachelle and their dog Delilah, all attended this event. Check out the photos from this event (thanks to Mary) in our gallery:
The day, we’ve all been waiting for for so many months now, is finally just around the corner! Tomorrow Simple Plan will be officially hitting the Van Howes studios in Vancouver, where the guys will start recording their new album – they have been working on the lyrics and melodies for the last 8 months. 
