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It was 2004 the last time I spoke with the Canadian rockers, Simple Plan. A lot has changed for the band since then, specially their look and sound. The band, made up of Pierre Bouvier, Chuck Comeau, David Desrosiers, Sabastien Lefebvre, and Jeff Stinco, is back on the music scene after a brief hiatus with a brilliant new self-titled album. I recently spoke with the lead singer, Pierre, and asked him what made the band decide to self-title the album considering their first two albums were titled "No Pads, No Helmets, Just Balls" and "Still Not Getting Any," respectively. "It was a good way to mark the importance of the album," says Pierre. He added that it worked for Metallica who after four albums finally self-titled their fifth album.
I'm not so sure you can compare the success of Simple Plan to that of Metallica, but apparently the strategy worked because since the album's release in early February, the album has already become the band's most successful album to date, at least overseas. I asked Pierre if he was at all surprised by the success overseas compared to the U.S., "It's really great! We're building a more loyal fanbase. I never want to talk crap, but the U.S. doesn't have that much loyalty compared to other countries." The band has had decent success here in the United States though scoring the number 14 spot on the Billboard 200. It's not quite the number 3 position their last album debuted at, but it's not such a bad place to land after being out of the spotlight for a couple years. Pierre admits they were "a little" nervous how the album would do because "you just never know how it's going to go over. Some great songs don't catch on and then some mediocre ones do."
As for the new look and sound, Pierre told me that it was a conscious decision to go in a new direction. "It's good to keep it fresh. Not reinvent, but bring something new," he explained. And, something new is exactly what Simple Plan delivered. The first single from the album, "When I'm Gone," is a touch of the old, catchy Simple Plan with a whole lot of the new, edgier Simple Plan. A personal favorite of mine from the album is also the second single titled, "Your Love Is a Lie."
Simple Plan is currently on a short tour hitting small venues in Detroit and Chicago before spending the next two months on a world tour that will take them to Stockholm, Amsterdam, Munich, Milan, London, Paris, and Prague, among many other cities. Pierre says all the traveling is both a good and bad part of touring. He says he's most looking forward to Prague because he's never been there, plus it just so happens to be the final tour stop before the guys come back to the States for a busy summer touring and playing at countless music festivals.
With a busy day ahead of him I just had one final question for Pierre before letting him go on his way. What was his plan for the future, how long did he see himself doing this? "Until I die," he said. Now that truly is a simple plan.
- Chad Kennedy, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
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