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a few Deryck interviews:
Sum 41 Had 'Complete Freedom' On Screaming Bloody Murder
Band's first new album in nearly four years is strictly for the fans, Deryck Whibley says.Deryck Whibley knows it's been awhile since Sum 41 released a new album. But he doesn't really care.
"Something like three or four years ago, I just started writing songs. We never intended to make a record; it was more like collecting music in a way. ... If I had an idea, I'd write, and it would come to me in 10 minutes, I'd throw it on a tape and forget about it," he said. "We didn't really care about any kind of deadline or whatever, because we'd been touring in the midst of all the writing, and any time we'd put on a tour, it would sell out. And I started to realize, 'You know what? I don't care if radio plays this, I don't care if the video gets played, I don't care if the critics like it, f--- everybody, because we have our fans, and it's about us, our music and our fans.' ... I'm not against anybody, but if nobody likes us in all the media, f--- it, it doesn't matter, we don't need them."
And it's with that attitude that Sum 41 return to the racks with Screaming Bloody Murder (due March 29), their first proper album in nearly four years. It's a rough-and-tumble, down-and-dirty affair, recorded on the fly and intended for just two groups of folks: Sum 41 and their die-hard fans. For better or worse, critics — and record labels — be damned.
"For the most part, I think people [at Sum's label, Island Records] thought I was f---ing crazy, and they thought that this was going to be a never-ending record and that I didn't know what I was doing, and it was sort of the Chinese Democracy of punk rock, I guess," Whibley said. "They actually stopped paying for stuff. At one point, we got to the point where I was like, 'I've got two more songs,' and they're like, 'This record is done. You are not getting any more money out of us, we are not going to put any more money into this thing, you're just wasting time.' And I just said, 'All right, f--- it, I'll pay for it.' And I ended up paying for the last few songs for the record. So, yeah, I feel strongly about this record, mostly because I feel like, it's when we realized we had complete freedom."
And if Whibley seems rather, uh, brusque about things, well, he has good reason to be. After all, the past few years have been pretty rough for him, starting in 2009, with his divorce from wife of three years, Avril Lavigne, and running right through a bar fight that left him hospitalized last year. All those things are covered on Bloody Murder, and because of that — and his unfettered freedom to create exactly the kind of album he wanted to — Whibley said he's found a happiness he's never known before. One he now wants to share with his fans.
"I wrote a lot of these songs in a dark period, because, going through the divorce period was a very hard, dark time. And what I realized, I guess, is, when you're going through something — whether it's a death in the family, a divorce, something that's very unexpected and painful — you go super, super low, and then when you can come out of it, what you thought was your highest point becomes even higher," he said. "And that's where I'm at now, and that's where I was at making the record. When I was writing it, it was in the low period, and now I'm at a highest point that I didn't know existed."
www.mtv.com/news/articles/1657085/sum-41-screaming-bloody-murder.jhtmlDeryck Whibley of Sum 41 Talks "Screaming Bloody Murder" and MoreIt's been over three years since we've heard from Canada's Sum 41, musically speaking. The band, which began as a pop punk outfit, has grown up and made the darkest, most aggressive rock record of its career since then. Singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley, who became more famous for being married to (and subsequently divorced from) pop punk princess Avril Lavigne than for his musical output in the interim, is ready for Sum 41 to come back to the forefront. With thousands of fans still turning up at Sum 41 shows and an overall "f**k You" attitude implicit (and explicit) in Screaming Bloody Murder and Whibley now divorced from Lavigne, Sum 41 have positioned themselves for a comeback, if you want to call it that.
ARTISTdirect.com news editor Amy Sciarretto spoke to Whibley about his post-divorce production work with Lavigne; the unorthodox way he wrote music for Screaming Bloody Murder; the overarching "f**k You" attitude that defines the album; and how the album is a guitar-driven album. Sum 41 have grown up. So have their fans. That doesn't stop them from making viable music.
You did a lot of production work on your ex-wife Avril Lavigne's new album. Was that awkward? Are you still friends?I did my best. That's all I can say. I didn't write anything. She wrote the songs and gave them to me produce and I did whatever I thought they needed. It's different, but also the same. I approached it the same way I do my own stuff. I have a studio in the house. She would have a song and I would jump in the studio and record it quick, but the difference was that I don't have the final say on the song. That was different than how I do it with my own band. The way I record it was the same way I do my own stuff.
So you have the final say with your own band only? Yes, for my own thing. When I produce her stuff, it is up to her, since it's her music.
Did you produce the whole thing? There are eight songs I did that made the record, but I don't have the final record yet.
Okay, enough questions about your producer role with your ex-wife. What's new with Sum 41? The band grew out of the pop punk sound, but that's always such a youthful tag! Where are you now, musically speaking? Growing up?
I don't think it's very youthful anymore. It's sort of... we're not really that young anymore. It's a natural evolution, I guess. Topic-wise, it's not youthful. Energy-wise, it's aggressive, dark and heavy. I don't think it's youthful, but it's not that it can't appeal to younger people. It is representative of where I am in my life now, which is a different place than I was 10 years ago.
That makes total sense and it's a fair musical evolution. So, where are you now? I don't know where these songs came from. I don't even remember writing them. I heard them and don't remember where they came from or writing them. The whole record felt like a gift and I don't feel like I had anything to do with it, but I did, since I wrote everything. Every song I wrote came within 10 minutes and it took 10-15 minutes to get it out. I didn't spend more time on them, but the album took a long time, three years. I never sat down and said, 'I am going to write a song.' I'd be in the middle of a conversation and be like 'f**k, 'Incoming! I have an idea.' I would throw down the idea, go back to the conversation and then go through my tapes.
Did you end up stock piling a lot of ideas? Yes, that would happen once a month. I had a great time, enjoying living and every now and then, 10 minutes out of a month, I'd write a song.
Where the fans wondering where you were, since it was a few years between records? Possibly, yeah. I never cared what radio or press or anybody thinks. We're doing our thing. Thousands of people still show up to our shows and that gave me the freedom to not care.
That's a good "problem" to have! Totally. For the first time in my career, everything is awesome. The shows are awesome and the fans are awesome and that's all I care about.
Overall, how was the process for Screaming Bloody Murder? It's been a weird record. It was never really like we were making a record. It's not like were going to put something out just to put something out. We were always accumulating music and knew we would put something out. But a timeline? No. We felt like it's almost done many times and then we kept going.
Sum 41... the Energizer bunnies! For this album to be darker and more aggressive, did you use darker tones or lyrics or was there more screaming and heavier riffs? It's a guitar record. There's lots of guitar riffs and solos. It's very guitar based. There are darker keys and lyric, too. I wrote a lot of songs in dark period, when I was going through a divorce and had an overall painful period. A lot of it tends to be darker.
How are you now? If I wrote a song today, it'd be the happiest song you ever heard. I didn't care about radio or pander to anything. I realized what do I love the most? I love rock music, so we made a rock record, a hard rock record. It is sort of like there is no theme, but it is a 'f**k' You record. We don't care. f**k you, here it is.
How does your label feel? f**k them, right? They were on my ass the whole f**king time, freaking out, like, 'What is he doing? He is taking so long, he doesn't seem to care. What are they doing?' I kept saying, 'We'll give it to you when it's done."
Why are there thousands of kids showing up to Sum 41 shows still? What's the secret? You can never pinpoint it. At the end of the day, the body of work is the music. They say they like it or they don't. To a 15-year-old kid, a song from 10 years ago, they don't know if it was reviewed in Rolling Stone or if it charted. They think, 'Do I like it or do I not like it? Those who comes to our shows? They say 'I like it.' They make their choice on what they like and fortunately for us, they've liked us continuously.
Do you plan to do more producing? I hate producing. I hate working with other bands [laughs] The only reason I did it with Avril is because she was my wife. The only other band I do it for is Sum 41.
What would you like to say to your fans now? It is hard to explain something that you have to hear. People will hear it. It'll get out there, and people will find it on the Internet and download it for free, somehow. People will hear it when they need to hear it. I think it's great.
Are there any Def Jam guest stars, like Rihanna or Justin Bieber? No! It's a straight up 'f**k you' rock record. We sound like a band playing. We didn't do a lot of overproduction. We went in and played rock music and had best time of our lives.
—Amy Sciarretto
02.07.11
www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/deryck-whibley-of-sum-41-talks-screaming-bloody-murder-and-more/8692584Former Oasis loudmouth Liam Gallagher once surmised Canadian pop-punk band Sum 41 thusly:"Do you ever look at the sky and think, I'm glad I'm alive? After I heard Sum 41, I thought, I'm actually alive to hear the s**ttiest band of all time. Which is quite something when you think about it. Of all the bands that have gone before and all the bands that'll be in the future, I was around when the worst was around."
Despite such discourteous appraisal, the Canadian have managed to successfully shift over 6 million records and, after 11 years, continue to sell out venues the world over. Frontman Deryk Whibley is the cornerstone of the band; the sole writer, the business mind, the poster on the bedroom wall. After recently divorcing Avril Lavigne (the winner of our Top 10 Worst Cover Songs of All Time), Whibley set out to record a darker record on the bands fifth album, Scream Bloody Murder, due out at the end of March 2011.
TheVine connects with Whibley on the eve of the bands participation in the nationally touring Soundwave festival. We chat about his divorce, civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo and what the term 'pop punk' means to him.
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I want to talk about your new album first up. I heard a couple of songs off it last night and It sounds like it will be quite a divergence from your previous record?Yeah, it is. It's a lot heavier. We had a lot of different things to say on this record, too It was written over the course of three years, so you go through a lot of different life changes. Naturally there's more to say.
It also sounds like there is a bit of anger shining through on this one.There's definitely a lot of passion on these songs. I write the songs and when I was writing them it was in a darker period of my life. It's a heavier, darker record.
You went through a divorce recently (with Avril Lavigne). Will it be a divorce heavy record?Not necessarily, it was just the mood I was in I guess. I don't really analyse it and I don't really think about it. I just write songs and whatever comes out comes out. If I'm feeling that way in my own personal life then it will come through in my music.
Your last record [Underclass Hero, 2008] polarised its predecessor [Chuck, 2005], which is probably the darkest you've taken your music. Dave departed after the release of Chuck - was he the kosher metalhead in the band?No. Like I said, I write the songs, so if he was around his influence didn't have any effect on what I was writing. This record is heavier than Chuck I think - there are a lot of heavy guitar riffs. It's a very guitar driven record. But he's been gone for about five years now, I don't even think about him.
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our music has always seemed like a bit of a two-sided coin to me. There's the radio-friendly side and then there's the other side - which appears less shinier, but not necessarily less valuable. When this coin is dug up in 20 years time, which side do you think would be of more value to you?Errm…the thing that helped me make this record, or gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do, was that I just said f**k everybody. I don't give a s**t about radio, I don't give a s**t about press, I don't care what critics say about this record. All I care about is the band and the fans. People will come to our shows regardless, we don't need anyone. f**k everybody, you know? If anyone says anything bad about the record, or radio doesn't play it, f**k off I don't give a s**t. We've been around for 11 years now and it's better than ever.
You've always been slotted into the genre of "pop punk": the term itself is a bit oxymoronic. Do you think there can be an authentic balance between the two?I don't even say the term pop punk. It's not even a term that I think about. I never felt like we were a pop punk band because we really weren't. If you listen to each record there are so many different styles of music: punk, metal, hip hop. I've never considered ourselves anything but a rock band.
Do you think your music has flown the flag a bit for insubordinate teenagers?No, because I would never say that I have the ability to do that. All I know I can do is write what I feel like writing at the time and if it can connect with people then it's a great thing. Write music and hope for the best.
I saw you play in 2004 and I can remember two things about the show: the intensity of your live performance, but more vividly, the intensity of your fans. You had the "band shirt" fans . And that's what I think about when I think of that genre. The kids are there for the music and nothing else.Yeah I totally agree, which is why I think we've been able to sustain ourselves throughout the years. People like the music. There are always going to be people who hate it, but the people who love it really love it and I realised that's why you don't need anybody.
What has music done for you?What has it done for me? It's been the cause of everything good and bad in my life (laughs). I mean music is my life. It's all I've ever done - I've never done anything else in my life to make a living. Music is my life.
You filmed a documentary in 2005 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Could you tell me a bit the trip and how it came about?The purpose of the trip was to do a documentary on the civil war which had been going on there, because it was this crazy war that nobody knew about. It's the biggest war since World War II - 3.5 million people have died, so we thought let's go there and try and bring some light to this and see if we can help it.
And did you?Everything was going fine for the first 10 days, because the war was meant to be over. It'd been over for a year - there was a ceasefire and the UN was there. For some other reason it started up again and we were caught in the middle of it, literally, because the war started up on the street that our hotel was on. There was one rebel group on the left-side and one on the right-side and they were shooting back and forth with AK-47's and rocket-launcher grenades which kept hitting our hotel. We couldn't get out, so we were stuck, but also dodging bullets and grenades and RPG's and stuff. We started running from room to room because rooms were getting blown up. Finally after two days of this the UN had to come in with tanks and get everybody out.
So what is your stance on places like the Congo being subjectively and brutally disenfranchised, so businesses can profit from its resources?Having seen it first hand it's awful. There's huge money in foreign companies who take all the resources from these beautiful countries like the Congo and it's terrible.
It's been happening for a long time.Yeah it has…and what I realised is you can't change it. Being young and naive at the time we were thinking, we can help change this! I really felt like we could do something. I don't know what can be done. I think it can possibly be changed over time, but I certainly don't think there can be a quick fix.
I would guess that enough people in positions of power don't want it to be fixed.Yeah, exactly. There's just not a lot you can do. I don't want to sound negative and say don't try…it's just I, don't know what to do?
Was it hard to return back to Canada and think about making music again?Well we'd made the record already and we'd literally flown from the studio to the Congo. Then we flew from the Congo to go and play at the Download festival in England. So we flew from being shot at and almost killed to going straight on stage. I remember we played awful, it was a horrible show - but it was the greatest show of our lives. I'll never forget that, looking over at the guys and we had a smile on our face and realised this is what we are meant to be doing.
What do you think the future holds for Sum 41?Scream Bloody Murder album is going to come out and then we're going to tour the world.
You're playing the Soundwave festivals down here - have you had a chance to look at the bill?Yeah, it's a great bill. I can't believe how many bands are playing on it. It's one of the best lineups I've ever seen. I'm going to watch Iron Maiden every night!
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