Post by Heather on Nov 3, 2010 14:28:54 GMT -5
I STILL SALUTE THE SUMS
INTERVIEW WITH SUM 41
OCTOBER 27, 2010 / NORWICH, UNITED KINGDOM / UEA LCR
LA: How has the first day of Eastpak Antidote commenced so far?
DW: We just did our first sound-check.
SJ: Yesterday we did our first rehearsal.
DW: We haven’t played together since the last show of the last tour.
LA: Not much practice goes on back home?
SJ: No – which I should be doing - because every time there’s a long break in between tours my calluses go away. It makes the first week of tour brutal!
DW: The first couple of shows are always getting back into it.
SJ: Yeah, but you know, we’re excited. A lot of these shows are already sold out, so that’s nice. And it’s just fun to tour so we’re happy to be back doing it. I’m happy to see you, Deryck.
DW: I’m happy to see you too.
LA: Can fans expect anything different on Eastpak Antidote?
DW: We aren’t going to be playing too many new songs on this tour, but we are going to play some songs we haven’t played in a long time to switch the set up a bit and try some different stuff.
SJ: But whether we play big clubs or big festivals, or small clubs, it’s always the same sort of energy from us. That’s always kind of the same, so tonight will be no different.
LA: Is there a personal meaning behind “Screaming Bloody Murder” or is it another title that just sounded cool?
CM: Deryck came up with it.
DW: I just thought of it one day and thought it sounded cool.
LA: Why the initial decision to only release an EP post “Underclass Hero”? Wouldn’t working on the next full length have been assumed?
SJ: Well, we took the time off after Underclass Hero. We had been touring for years non-stop, so when we did get that time, we (Cone and I) both got married and got to be really thoughtful… you know, cooked dinner, and it was all very good. So we did that, then we weren’t sure if we wanted to do a record yet, then Deryck was like, “Let’s do an EP”, and he had all these songs ready. It was really just the Epic (12 minute long song) thing, pretty much?
DW: Kind of, yeah.
SJ: So it’s in the album, but…
DW: We just kept expanding on it.
SJ: Yeah, it just sort of happened. It wasn’t like “We’re going to do this!”
DW: We just added more songs and more songs.
SJ: It was like one day, he (Deryck) called and was like “I think I’ve got more songs than just for an EP”, and I was like “Well what are we at?” “Like 9 or 10” And so by that time you’re pretty much in album territory.
DW: And so we just decided we’d keep writing, however long it would take… and then all of a sudden we were like, “Ok, we have enough for an album now.”
LA: Would Island have released the EP and counted it as part of your contract if you did finish it?
DW: I don’t think so.
SJ: But I think after this one coming out, we still have another record with Island.
CM: EPs come out and they kind of just get pushed aside. They’re not that serious.
DW: We knew that Island wouldn’t do anything with it. I guess the idea was, the songs for the EP turned out to be way better than we thought, and we knew that if we put an EP out, the label wouldn’t do anything with it. They would just throw it on iTunes, no marketing, no one would ever hear it. So, we thought, since the quality was good enough, we should just keep writing and see where it goes.
SJ: Ironically we thought that the record was happening so quick, like “We’ve got so many songs that just appeared!” But still, this album has taken a while. Just the actual production of it was stretched out over long periods of time.
DW: I was just thinking the other day that I started writing for it three years ago.
SJ: See, you need to know about punctuality and organizing your time. You’re too much like Dipple!
LA: What happened with Gil Norton initially producing the record?
DW: We started out with him, but we came to a point where we realized we had different processes. We got along really well, but we just kind of had different ideas about how things were going to go down. At the end of the day, we just felt like we would be better off doing it our own way, because that’s the way that’s most comfortable.
LA: Would you say you were happy with the result?
DW: Yes and no. Yes to the fact that we were going to get what we wanted out of it, no to the fact that it was going to be a lot of work…
LA: How was Gil’s direction for the record different from yours?
SJ: Well we kind of have a rhythm that we’re used to, so for me, personally, it was just quicker to go “around” Gil, I guess. Like he would talk about drum parts in a way that I didn’t really understand what he wanted, whereas with Deryck, I don’t have to say anything. We’ve been doing this together for so long.
DW: We just kind of look at each other and know. It wasn’t that Gil was bad or anything; it was just putting somebody else in the mix where we’ve already got a process, so it just slowed everything down.
LA: Can we expect much piano on the next record or in upcoming live shows?
DW: There’s not a lot of it, but there is piano on it.
CM: There’s actually more piano in songs that didn’t make the album.
DW: Yeah.
CM: Like those ballady songs.
DW: Yeah. There was one song that was just piano and vocals.
SJ: …and drums.
DW: No drums.
SJ: But they all have drums. We talked about them all having drums!
CM: Tom plays piano for live shows.
TT: Yeah, I love playing. We don’t have one out on this tour. I don’t know if we’re playing any piano songs?
SJ: We have a bunch of them! So our piano is probably in shambles now. Our storage space is with a bunch of other bands, and every other band’s pile of stuff is so neat and organized, and then there’s Sum 41’s, and literally like a pile of garbage. There are just like, random drum kits and I went the other day and there was a guitar totally ripped in half!
DW: Yeah, it’s all broken!
SJ: Remember that electric motorcycle I bought that doesn’t work anymore? It was like on the very top of it!
CM: My drums are too. Out of their cases.
LA: How much of the new record can we expect to hear live once it’s out?
DW: We’ll play a lot of the songs, I think. There a lot of songs that seem like they’ll go over very well live. It’s a very live album.
CM: We played some yesterday at rehearsal.
LA: How did you find it?
CM: It was the first time as a full band, I think. We did some on the last tour that you saw, while Deryck was warming up.
LA: Yeah I did. Without Deryck, you guys rehearsed about three or four at the sound check in Paris, and I was able to tell a few of you that “Epic” really impressed me.
DW: Yeah?
LA: I thought it went down really well. I loved the transitions from melodic to heavy, the parts in 6/8 and the time signature change into 4/4. Though you guys have written songs and parts in 6/8 before, I felt like this one was special - like the next step for the band showing musical maturity. I guess witnessing that just proved to me that Sum 41 weren’t stagnating in any way, and it seemed like you guys would be taking it to the next level with this record.
DW: Cool, thank you.
LA: Are we on track to expect the upcoming single in November and record in February as mentioned in previous interviews?
DW: It’s so hard to say, because it’s a record company thing, so it’s not really in our control anymore. And there’s weird stuff going on with the record company right now, so we’re still trying to figure it out. I don’t know, to be honest. We don’t know.
CM: The new single will probably be out next year at this point.
DW: Yeah, I think it is going to be in the new year.
LA: It’s common for artists to always say their most recent work is the best they’ve ever done. Does this still hold true for Sum 41? Would you look at your work in reverse chronological order and stand by the statement?
DW: I kind of always hate everything after it’s come out. I think there are always moments on every record that I still love, but I don’t really look at any of the records as great records.
CM: Every musician is going to say their newest stuff is their best because it’s new to them, it’s fresh, but if you look back over ten years, then you’re always going to have your favorite album. So for me, it doesn’t go backwards.
DW: It’s hard for us too, because we like each album for different reasons. I would like a song for a different reason than Cone would like it, so I guess you could say we’re close to each album or song in different ways.
LA: Do you expect to ‘hate’ “Screaming Bloody Murder” once it’s released then?
DW: I don’t think so… no. My complaint on the other records is I like certain songs but then, some of them…
CM: Skip.
DW: Yeah, there are a lot of skippers to me on the first two records, and “Chuck”.
CM: …but you didn’t think they were skippers at the time.
DW: Besides this record and the last record, we never gave ourselves any time at all. So the first twelve songs we wrote, we would get them recorded, and then get back on the road, and I would think they were not that great, but we might as well track them.
LA: Was that because of pressure from the record company?
DW: It was just pressure from the whole thing, I guess. I mean, ourselves. It was just the way it was. Whereas now, we wait till we like every song, and then put out a record.
SJ: I think this might be the first record we have where there are songs that were good, that we didn’t fit somehow. Usually there were always 12 songs written, so there were 12 songs on the album, whereas this time…
DW: We had choices.
SJ: We had things that maybe would work later on. That’s new.
LA: What was your most memorable moment recording “Screaming Bloody Murder”?
DW: I don’t know… it took so long. I don’t think there’s a memorable moment. I guess the most memorable thing about it is just the way we recorded it. We rented a house, and everything that went on in that house in the midst of recording was just kind of chaotic.
SJ: In a fun way.
DW: In a very fun way.
LA: Would you like to record the next album in this same way then?
CM: It was a good way of doing things.
DW: It was great. I loved it, but it’s also, the time in your life whether it’s going to make sense or not.
LA: Was Metallica a promoter or band request for the Hoodwink Festival?
DW: That was us. Everyone got to pick their own band.
LA: Good to hear! I figured, and I loved it.
DW: It was fun.
LA: Will “Wherever I May Roam” from that set ever see the light of day?
CM: Oh yeah, there were a couple that didn’t get released, right? I mean, one of them.
DW: I don’t think anything is going to come out anymore.
CM: Stone Cold Crazy - that came out?
DW: Yeah, it did.
SJ: I forgot we did that one. Metallica covering Queen.
DW: That one turned out great, I loved that one.
SJ: That was a fucking ripper.
CM: What about Motorbreath, did that one ever get released?
SJ: I don’t know.
DW: Yeah, that was part of the intro medley.
LA: …that did get released.
LA: Why did you record an alternative version for “Makes No Difference” for “Eight Years of Blood, Sake, and Tears” as opposed to any other song?
DW: We just had that song already. We did that a long time ago. It was originally going to go on “All Killer No Filler”, because “Half Hour of Power” was just an EP, and the label wanted to put “Makes No Difference” out because it would be a single.
CM: And really the only difference I think is the key. The one on the Japanese greatest hits is in D, and the one on the album is in E. I think that’s the only difference really!
LA: Was that the label’s request or a band decision to put something extra on the greatest hits record?
DW: Well, we just had that lying around, so we just said “Let’s put something else on it too.”
LA: Whatever happened to the B-side song featuring Cone singing?
DW: Oh that was the fast song.
CW: Oh.
DW: We just never got it done.
CM: We don’t think it’s very good, to be honest! I mean, we had an idea of just releasing it for free, but…
SJ: I’d still say it was too expensive.
CM: What’s that?
SJ: It’s too expensive for that song, still!
LA: Could you describe Sum 41’s dynamic of putting together a set list?
DW: Usually when we get a set list going, we usually switch one or two songs in and out, and you can kind of feel if they are working or not. It sort of takes form as you go, and we just play along with what the people react to.
LA: Any thoughts of bringing “No Brains” or “Mr. Amsterdam” back?
DW: It’s possible. I think it’s possible.
SJ: We played “Mr. Amsterdam” not too long ago. Didn’t we?
CM: “No Brains” we’ve been playing here and there too.
DW: We haven’t played “Mr. Amsterdam.” We may have rehearsed it or something.
TT: No, we played it in a couple tours. We played it in Pomona.
DW: Really?
CM: Maybe on the Offspring tour.
SJ: I mean, I’m not talking recent, I’m talking within a year or so.
CM: “No Brains” more and more.
TT: We played that a lot.
SJ: Yeah, I mean they’re fun. We like to play them.
TT: I’d play “Mr. Amsterdam”.
LA: What goals does Sum 41 have yet to achieve?
DW: I think the goal for me is to just keep going, and getting better.
SJ: Yeah, it’s the same goal. We just want to keep doing this for as long as we can. That’s the goal. I don’t want to go back to a real job. I can’t do it! I don’t know how to do anything else!
INTERVIEW WITH SUM 41
OCTOBER 27, 2010 / NORWICH, UNITED KINGDOM / UEA LCR
LA: How has the first day of Eastpak Antidote commenced so far?
DW: We just did our first sound-check.
SJ: Yesterday we did our first rehearsal.
DW: We haven’t played together since the last show of the last tour.
LA: Not much practice goes on back home?
SJ: No – which I should be doing - because every time there’s a long break in between tours my calluses go away. It makes the first week of tour brutal!
DW: The first couple of shows are always getting back into it.
SJ: Yeah, but you know, we’re excited. A lot of these shows are already sold out, so that’s nice. And it’s just fun to tour so we’re happy to be back doing it. I’m happy to see you, Deryck.
DW: I’m happy to see you too.
LA: Can fans expect anything different on Eastpak Antidote?
DW: We aren’t going to be playing too many new songs on this tour, but we are going to play some songs we haven’t played in a long time to switch the set up a bit and try some different stuff.
SJ: But whether we play big clubs or big festivals, or small clubs, it’s always the same sort of energy from us. That’s always kind of the same, so tonight will be no different.
LA: Is there a personal meaning behind “Screaming Bloody Murder” or is it another title that just sounded cool?
CM: Deryck came up with it.
DW: I just thought of it one day and thought it sounded cool.
LA: Why the initial decision to only release an EP post “Underclass Hero”? Wouldn’t working on the next full length have been assumed?
SJ: Well, we took the time off after Underclass Hero. We had been touring for years non-stop, so when we did get that time, we (Cone and I) both got married and got to be really thoughtful… you know, cooked dinner, and it was all very good. So we did that, then we weren’t sure if we wanted to do a record yet, then Deryck was like, “Let’s do an EP”, and he had all these songs ready. It was really just the Epic (12 minute long song) thing, pretty much?
DW: Kind of, yeah.
SJ: So it’s in the album, but…
DW: We just kept expanding on it.
SJ: Yeah, it just sort of happened. It wasn’t like “We’re going to do this!”
DW: We just added more songs and more songs.
SJ: It was like one day, he (Deryck) called and was like “I think I’ve got more songs than just for an EP”, and I was like “Well what are we at?” “Like 9 or 10” And so by that time you’re pretty much in album territory.
DW: And so we just decided we’d keep writing, however long it would take… and then all of a sudden we were like, “Ok, we have enough for an album now.”
LA: Would Island have released the EP and counted it as part of your contract if you did finish it?
DW: I don’t think so.
SJ: But I think after this one coming out, we still have another record with Island.
CM: EPs come out and they kind of just get pushed aside. They’re not that serious.
DW: We knew that Island wouldn’t do anything with it. I guess the idea was, the songs for the EP turned out to be way better than we thought, and we knew that if we put an EP out, the label wouldn’t do anything with it. They would just throw it on iTunes, no marketing, no one would ever hear it. So, we thought, since the quality was good enough, we should just keep writing and see where it goes.
SJ: Ironically we thought that the record was happening so quick, like “We’ve got so many songs that just appeared!” But still, this album has taken a while. Just the actual production of it was stretched out over long periods of time.
DW: I was just thinking the other day that I started writing for it three years ago.
SJ: See, you need to know about punctuality and organizing your time. You’re too much like Dipple!
LA: What happened with Gil Norton initially producing the record?
DW: We started out with him, but we came to a point where we realized we had different processes. We got along really well, but we just kind of had different ideas about how things were going to go down. At the end of the day, we just felt like we would be better off doing it our own way, because that’s the way that’s most comfortable.
LA: Would you say you were happy with the result?
DW: Yes and no. Yes to the fact that we were going to get what we wanted out of it, no to the fact that it was going to be a lot of work…
LA: How was Gil’s direction for the record different from yours?
SJ: Well we kind of have a rhythm that we’re used to, so for me, personally, it was just quicker to go “around” Gil, I guess. Like he would talk about drum parts in a way that I didn’t really understand what he wanted, whereas with Deryck, I don’t have to say anything. We’ve been doing this together for so long.
DW: We just kind of look at each other and know. It wasn’t that Gil was bad or anything; it was just putting somebody else in the mix where we’ve already got a process, so it just slowed everything down.
LA: Can we expect much piano on the next record or in upcoming live shows?
DW: There’s not a lot of it, but there is piano on it.
CM: There’s actually more piano in songs that didn’t make the album.
DW: Yeah.
CM: Like those ballady songs.
DW: Yeah. There was one song that was just piano and vocals.
SJ: …and drums.
DW: No drums.
SJ: But they all have drums. We talked about them all having drums!
CM: Tom plays piano for live shows.
TT: Yeah, I love playing. We don’t have one out on this tour. I don’t know if we’re playing any piano songs?
SJ: We have a bunch of them! So our piano is probably in shambles now. Our storage space is with a bunch of other bands, and every other band’s pile of stuff is so neat and organized, and then there’s Sum 41’s, and literally like a pile of garbage. There are just like, random drum kits and I went the other day and there was a guitar totally ripped in half!
DW: Yeah, it’s all broken!
SJ: Remember that electric motorcycle I bought that doesn’t work anymore? It was like on the very top of it!
CM: My drums are too. Out of their cases.
LA: How much of the new record can we expect to hear live once it’s out?
DW: We’ll play a lot of the songs, I think. There a lot of songs that seem like they’ll go over very well live. It’s a very live album.
CM: We played some yesterday at rehearsal.
LA: How did you find it?
CM: It was the first time as a full band, I think. We did some on the last tour that you saw, while Deryck was warming up.
LA: Yeah I did. Without Deryck, you guys rehearsed about three or four at the sound check in Paris, and I was able to tell a few of you that “Epic” really impressed me.
DW: Yeah?
LA: I thought it went down really well. I loved the transitions from melodic to heavy, the parts in 6/8 and the time signature change into 4/4. Though you guys have written songs and parts in 6/8 before, I felt like this one was special - like the next step for the band showing musical maturity. I guess witnessing that just proved to me that Sum 41 weren’t stagnating in any way, and it seemed like you guys would be taking it to the next level with this record.
DW: Cool, thank you.
LA: Are we on track to expect the upcoming single in November and record in February as mentioned in previous interviews?
DW: It’s so hard to say, because it’s a record company thing, so it’s not really in our control anymore. And there’s weird stuff going on with the record company right now, so we’re still trying to figure it out. I don’t know, to be honest. We don’t know.
CM: The new single will probably be out next year at this point.
DW: Yeah, I think it is going to be in the new year.
LA: It’s common for artists to always say their most recent work is the best they’ve ever done. Does this still hold true for Sum 41? Would you look at your work in reverse chronological order and stand by the statement?
DW: I kind of always hate everything after it’s come out. I think there are always moments on every record that I still love, but I don’t really look at any of the records as great records.
CM: Every musician is going to say their newest stuff is their best because it’s new to them, it’s fresh, but if you look back over ten years, then you’re always going to have your favorite album. So for me, it doesn’t go backwards.
DW: It’s hard for us too, because we like each album for different reasons. I would like a song for a different reason than Cone would like it, so I guess you could say we’re close to each album or song in different ways.
LA: Do you expect to ‘hate’ “Screaming Bloody Murder” once it’s released then?
DW: I don’t think so… no. My complaint on the other records is I like certain songs but then, some of them…
CM: Skip.
DW: Yeah, there are a lot of skippers to me on the first two records, and “Chuck”.
CM: …but you didn’t think they were skippers at the time.
DW: Besides this record and the last record, we never gave ourselves any time at all. So the first twelve songs we wrote, we would get them recorded, and then get back on the road, and I would think they were not that great, but we might as well track them.
LA: Was that because of pressure from the record company?
DW: It was just pressure from the whole thing, I guess. I mean, ourselves. It was just the way it was. Whereas now, we wait till we like every song, and then put out a record.
SJ: I think this might be the first record we have where there are songs that were good, that we didn’t fit somehow. Usually there were always 12 songs written, so there were 12 songs on the album, whereas this time…
DW: We had choices.
SJ: We had things that maybe would work later on. That’s new.
LA: What was your most memorable moment recording “Screaming Bloody Murder”?
DW: I don’t know… it took so long. I don’t think there’s a memorable moment. I guess the most memorable thing about it is just the way we recorded it. We rented a house, and everything that went on in that house in the midst of recording was just kind of chaotic.
SJ: In a fun way.
DW: In a very fun way.
LA: Would you like to record the next album in this same way then?
CM: It was a good way of doing things.
DW: It was great. I loved it, but it’s also, the time in your life whether it’s going to make sense or not.
LA: Was Metallica a promoter or band request for the Hoodwink Festival?
DW: That was us. Everyone got to pick their own band.
LA: Good to hear! I figured, and I loved it.
DW: It was fun.
LA: Will “Wherever I May Roam” from that set ever see the light of day?
CM: Oh yeah, there were a couple that didn’t get released, right? I mean, one of them.
DW: I don’t think anything is going to come out anymore.
CM: Stone Cold Crazy - that came out?
DW: Yeah, it did.
SJ: I forgot we did that one. Metallica covering Queen.
DW: That one turned out great, I loved that one.
SJ: That was a fucking ripper.
CM: What about Motorbreath, did that one ever get released?
SJ: I don’t know.
DW: Yeah, that was part of the intro medley.
LA: …that did get released.
LA: Why did you record an alternative version for “Makes No Difference” for “Eight Years of Blood, Sake, and Tears” as opposed to any other song?
DW: We just had that song already. We did that a long time ago. It was originally going to go on “All Killer No Filler”, because “Half Hour of Power” was just an EP, and the label wanted to put “Makes No Difference” out because it would be a single.
CM: And really the only difference I think is the key. The one on the Japanese greatest hits is in D, and the one on the album is in E. I think that’s the only difference really!
LA: Was that the label’s request or a band decision to put something extra on the greatest hits record?
DW: Well, we just had that lying around, so we just said “Let’s put something else on it too.”
LA: Whatever happened to the B-side song featuring Cone singing?
DW: Oh that was the fast song.
CW: Oh.
DW: We just never got it done.
CM: We don’t think it’s very good, to be honest! I mean, we had an idea of just releasing it for free, but…
SJ: I’d still say it was too expensive.
CM: What’s that?
SJ: It’s too expensive for that song, still!
LA: Could you describe Sum 41’s dynamic of putting together a set list?
DW: Usually when we get a set list going, we usually switch one or two songs in and out, and you can kind of feel if they are working or not. It sort of takes form as you go, and we just play along with what the people react to.
LA: Any thoughts of bringing “No Brains” or “Mr. Amsterdam” back?
DW: It’s possible. I think it’s possible.
SJ: We played “Mr. Amsterdam” not too long ago. Didn’t we?
CM: “No Brains” we’ve been playing here and there too.
DW: We haven’t played “Mr. Amsterdam.” We may have rehearsed it or something.
TT: No, we played it in a couple tours. We played it in Pomona.
DW: Really?
CM: Maybe on the Offspring tour.
SJ: I mean, I’m not talking recent, I’m talking within a year or so.
CM: “No Brains” more and more.
TT: We played that a lot.
SJ: Yeah, I mean they’re fun. We like to play them.
TT: I’d play “Mr. Amsterdam”.
LA: What goals does Sum 41 have yet to achieve?
DW: I think the goal for me is to just keep going, and getting better.
SJ: Yeah, it’s the same goal. We just want to keep doing this for as long as we can. That’s the goal. I don’t want to go back to a real job. I can’t do it! I don’t know how to do anything else!