Post by Heather on Jul 10, 2010 19:20:56 GMT -5
Myspace News
It’s hard to believe it has been almost a decade since the former brats in Sum 41 exploded onto the pop-punk scene with their undeniable anthem “Fat Lip.” But as they say, time flies, and over the past 10 years, Deryck Whibley and company have gone on to tour consistently and record a handful of stellar albums, including the band’s fifth full-length Screaming Bloody Murder, which is set to come out late this summer.
Along the way, Sum 41 have influenced countless younger bands who have taken the band’s Iron Maiden-inflected riff*ge and occasional nods to hip-hop to heart. They have also caused a lot of raised eyebrows amongst punk purists. Well, you know who can relate to that? The dudes in Attack! Attack! Clearly this is a band who knows a thing or two about melding metal and rap (or would you call it crunk?) and, like Sum, have had their run-ins with the punk-rock police.
Plus, this past summer the YouTube video of Attack! Attack! crouching like crabs got played as much as the “Fat Lip” clip did back when we were in college. So, with that in mind, we caught up with Whibley and Attack! Attack!’s drummer, Andrew Wetzel, for our latest installment of “Generation Gap.”
Interview with Deryck Whibley
How many times have you played the Warped Tour?
You know I’ve never counted, but I’d say we’ve been a part of it at least five times; not the whole thing but we’ve done a couple weeks here and there at least five times.
What keeps you coming back?
The audience, really. There aren’t too many tours that can go through the whole summer like this where you can play in front of your audience—and for us, this is our audience. This is the best way to reach as many of them as possible.
How has the tour changed over the past decade?
I think it’s changed a lot in the past couple of years. It’s different this year because we haven’t heard of a lot of these bands. All the years before it was bands we were familiar with because they were bigger bands, whether you knew what they sounded like or not.
Are there any younger bands you want to check out this summer?
No. [Laughs.] Only because I’ve never heard of them and I don’t know anything about these bands. I’m sure some of them are okay. I’m sure some of them suck. I’m sure some of them are good. I’m sure some are great. I don’t know.
Do you feel out of place at all this summer?
For me it doesn’t mean anything because our set… that’s the only thing I care about. I don’t know anybody this summer really other than Alkaline Trio and Pennywise when they get out here; we have our thing, we have our crew guys and our band and we just all hang out together.
How does it feel to be a Warped Tour veteran?
I’ve honestly never thought about it or felt that. It’s one of those things that other people usually say. I’ve never once thought that we’re a veteran act on this tour because there are so many acts like Face To Face who still do this tour and are much more of a veteran band to me. I feel like the past ten years has gone by so fast. I feel like a new band in a way.
It’s hard to believe it has been almost a decade since the former brats in Sum 41 exploded onto the pop-punk scene with their undeniable anthem “Fat Lip.” But as they say, time flies, and over the past 10 years, Deryck Whibley and company have gone on to tour consistently and record a handful of stellar albums, including the band’s fifth full-length Screaming Bloody Murder, which is set to come out late this summer.
Along the way, Sum 41 have influenced countless younger bands who have taken the band’s Iron Maiden-inflected riff*ge and occasional nods to hip-hop to heart. They have also caused a lot of raised eyebrows amongst punk purists. Well, you know who can relate to that? The dudes in Attack! Attack! Clearly this is a band who knows a thing or two about melding metal and rap (or would you call it crunk?) and, like Sum, have had their run-ins with the punk-rock police.
Plus, this past summer the YouTube video of Attack! Attack! crouching like crabs got played as much as the “Fat Lip” clip did back when we were in college. So, with that in mind, we caught up with Whibley and Attack! Attack!’s drummer, Andrew Wetzel, for our latest installment of “Generation Gap.”
Interview with Deryck Whibley
How many times have you played the Warped Tour?
You know I’ve never counted, but I’d say we’ve been a part of it at least five times; not the whole thing but we’ve done a couple weeks here and there at least five times.
What keeps you coming back?
The audience, really. There aren’t too many tours that can go through the whole summer like this where you can play in front of your audience—and for us, this is our audience. This is the best way to reach as many of them as possible.
How has the tour changed over the past decade?
I think it’s changed a lot in the past couple of years. It’s different this year because we haven’t heard of a lot of these bands. All the years before it was bands we were familiar with because they were bigger bands, whether you knew what they sounded like or not.
Are there any younger bands you want to check out this summer?
No. [Laughs.] Only because I’ve never heard of them and I don’t know anything about these bands. I’m sure some of them are okay. I’m sure some of them suck. I’m sure some of them are good. I’m sure some are great. I don’t know.
Do you feel out of place at all this summer?
For me it doesn’t mean anything because our set… that’s the only thing I care about. I don’t know anybody this summer really other than Alkaline Trio and Pennywise when they get out here; we have our thing, we have our crew guys and our band and we just all hang out together.
How does it feel to be a Warped Tour veteran?
I’ve honestly never thought about it or felt that. It’s one of those things that other people usually say. I’ve never once thought that we’re a veteran act on this tour because there are so many acts like Face To Face who still do this tour and are much more of a veteran band to me. I feel like the past ten years has gone by so fast. I feel like a new band in a way.