"Do you ever feel like breaking down? Do you ever feel out of place? Like somehow you just don't belong and no one understands you. Do you ever wanna runaway? Do you lock yourself in your room? With the radio on, turned up so loud that no one hears you screaming..." sound familiar?

This Montreal-based party of five came together in the mid-90's. Known to us as "Simple Plan" they are known for their "work hard-play hard" mentality. With a spunky-energetic sound from their first album "No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls" which delivered more tracks about adolescent issues, to their newly debut album "Still Not Getting Any" can best be described through their lyrics. "Welcome to My Life" the band's first single off the album, ended up being a smash hit, which in turn sold more than 139,000 copies. After their debut release, Simple Plan rocked five continents and played more than three hundred shows within a years time. Did I mention they even sold out their first ever show in Japan!

The biggest concern for Simple Plan, as with any band, is their truly dedicated fan base and it really shows through their Fall tour they have been on, which kicked off back in October. SP has teamed up with Verizon Wireless to further enhance the fan experience before, during and after the concerts. For the first time ever, live audio ringtones called "trutones" will be produced from audio of the concerts and will be available through Verizon Wireless, in addition to other one-of-a-kind ringtones & voicetones. Verizon will also produce High School text-to-win contests and trivia games, on-site entertainment and website promotions, giving fans a direct connection to band members. After each show, fans can check out SP concerts, for exclusive concert pictures, band updates and downloads. The band picked up a lot of their fans from appearing on MTV's TRL and going Gold in Japan and their homeland of Canada. Besides the fact that they sold millions of records nationwide they were also nominated for four MTV Music Awards and have been playing the annual Vans Warped Tour for three years running now.

With a very successful past, SP can expect a very busy future. The group just ended a trip on Nov. 29th from Malaysia and Japan where they got word that they have a nomination for the 2005 MTV Asia Awards. Could life get any better for these guys? On New Years Eve SP will be featured on ABC on the Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve. Next March the band will be opening for Green Day on their Austrailian Tour. I'm running out of breathe here and that's not even the half of what these guys are doing. I guess the life of a rock star is never a slow one.

To check out more on the band and what they have planned, just check them out on their website - www.SimplePlan.com Until next time, simply check out Simple Plan and, of course, ...Keep Rockin'!

ROCK ON!


- Shannon Zeese, Associate Editor