Sum 41 Answer Fan Questions on New Music & Overcoming Trials wrote:
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There are few things diehard fans would love more than the chance to sit down with their favorite artists and ask them a question or ten. Sum 41 knows the value of a strong fan connection and recently made themselves available to answer questions about a number of topics submitted by their fans. Deryck Whibley, Cone McCaslin, and Tom Thacker all sat down to tell us all more about the band’s forthcoming new album, being told what to play in China and the trials of the last few years.
What is the overall theme going to be in regards to lyrical content for the new album, or is it going to be a song-by-song basis? -Eric, Alabama
Deryck: It feels like this is somewhat like volume 2 of Screaming Bloody Murder. If SBM was my life in order from after my divorce, this, so far is lyrically in order of the day I got back home from tour, leading into my life spiraling out of control.
Are any of the songs on the new album inspired by what you went through to recover? -Jason, Georgia
Deryck: Yes. Everything that goes on in my life ends up coming out in my lyrics. I would say [the album] chronicles from the beginning of the end to the end and then so on. I always try to find a way not to be too obvious or in your face about it. I like to play around with words a bit. I don’t like it to sound like a journal, but I want it to have the honesty as if it were one.
Who is drumming on the album and who are you planning on having drum for you guys when you’re on tour? -Zack, California
Deryck: Frank Zummo has played all the drums. He’s a beast on drums. We started playing together before I even wrote anything. We were just jamming and having fun. When I had my first batch of songs, we recorded a few. When I get some more done we’ll go back into the studio and record the rest.
You guys have traveled the globe and probably played at thousands of different venues. Is there a venue or particular festival that you guys always wanted to play but haven’t played yet? And if so where/what is it? -Lesley, Holland
Tom: Hi Lesley, Yep, we’ve played almost everywhere. From Albuquerque to Zagreb. We’ve even played in China, which was pretty strange. The officials chose our setlist for us, told us which songs we could and couldn’t play. Haha. Still, I had a f’ng blast there and loved playing for and meeting our Chinese fans. We’ve done so many festivals, I honestly wouldn’t be able to name all of them. One festival I would love to play that we haven’t played is Rock in Rio. We were booked to play it in Portugal a few years back but unfortunately had to cancel. Hopefully we’ll do it in Brazil too. We actually haven’t even played in Brazil yet. I’ve heard that Brazilian fans go absolutely nuts.
Obviously there is a new you (Deryck) since the last album. You have a new attitude and perspective on things. Does this reflect on the new album? -Rylan, AZ
Deryck: I would say that it must. I don’t really think too much about it. I write about myself and my experiences and just let the words sort of come out. But my mood and attitude always play a part in what comes out.
Hello Sum 41. It’s no secret that the band has had its fair share of trials and tribulations over the last decade in many ways, especially during this past year or so from losing an original member to a scary near death experience. What ended up being your motivation in choosing to go forward rather than stop altogether and was there ever a point where the band found itself questioning whether it was time to call it quits? -Jordan, Arizona
Cone: When we ended the last tour cycle and we all went our separate ways. I didn’t think about quitting, but I did think the band was somewhat imploding in ways. I wasn’t sure if we’d ever do it again. I love playing live and recording albums. I knew in my mind I wanted to do that again but I wasn’t sure if Sum 41 would be doing that again.
Deryck and I reconnected after a long break and talked about the last few years of touring, what had transpired, and how we both felt about everything and each other. We were really just becoming friends again. When we got into talks about new music and playing shows again I was all in. So was he and now we’re here.
When you write a song, do you generally have the vocal melody and after add the instruments, or do you first have a guitar or something then you add the vocals? -Romain, France
Deryck: I always start with music. Once I have the basic idea of the track, I will start coming up with the vocals.
What is the most meaningful song you have ever written? I mean in terms of lyrics? -Ophélie, France
Deryck: I would say “Pieces” is one of the most important songs for me. I felt it was the first time wrote a very personally emotional song. It gave me the confidence to do more that way.
How do you define success for Sum 41? Do you care more about critical, commercial, or artistic success? Is there something that really makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something great? I think you all are awesome successes! -Elizabeth, Virginia
Cone: I think for me success is being able to still tour all over the world and still have a fan base. You can’t look at album sales for success and I rarely read reviews. Critical success doesn’t really factor in for me. When we play shows and if people come out, that’s when I think we’ve become a successful band.
In comparison to your past albums, which direction is this new record moving towards? The old-school, wilder Sum 41 (‘Half Hour Of Power,’ ‘All Killer No Filler,’ etc.) or the more new serious Sum 41 (like ‘Screaming Bloody Murder’)? -Dyl, Michigan
Cone: I think this one is more along the same lines as SBM or Chuck musically. Its a heavier more aggressive album so far then All Killer or Half Hour but melodically it still has that All Killer vibe or Does This Look Infected vibe cause its got those catchy melodies. Its not a metal album at all but it is heavy sounding and there’s a bunch of fast stuff too.
With such iconic Canadian music institutions vanishing (Speakers Corner, Much Music, etc) do you feel Canada is losing it’s musical presence? What direction do you see Canada’s music culture heading in the future? Do you feel it will still have the same influential impact on new generations as in the past? -Tyson, Ontario
Tom: Hey Tyson, Speakers’ Corner gave viewers a voice at a time when artists/VJ’s/DJs were less accessible, These days everyone has access to pretty much every artist or music platform through Twitter/Instagram/Facebook etc. You can even start your own website/blog/vlog for free and communicate directly within the industry. So there are pretty much unlimited avenues you can take to have your voice heard.
It’s actually hard to imagine where Canadian music culture is headed since the music industry has changed so much and so quickly in the past decade. I think artists will become more independent, which is great, since it is easier to get exposure now through social media platforms. Artists can make music their way, promote it and market it their way instead of having to answer to a label or a program director.
It definitely is the and of an era though, MuchMusic was an amazing music channel that exposed all Canadian viewers, including me, to basically every genre of music, underground or mainstream. They aren’t really a music channel anymore, but they still offer grants through
MuchFACT, available to Canadian artists that enable any musician to make a video/website/EPK that they may not otherwise be able to afford. There is also FACTOR, which also offers support to artists
https://factor.ca.
With foundations like MuchFACT and FACTOR in place to help support Canadian talent, I can’t imagine Canada losing it’s musical presence. I’ve benefited from these organizations many times and so has every Canadian artist that I know. I think Canadians will always be influential in the arts; it’s in our blood. We support music because we love music.