Post by Heather on Feb 6, 2011 17:55:55 GMT -5
The Vine Interview with Deryck Whibley
I want to talk about your new album first up. I heard a couple of songs off it last night and It sounds like it will be quite a divergence from your previous record?
Yeah, it is. It's a lot heavier. We had a lot of different things to say on this record, too It was written over the course of three years, so you go through a lot of different life changes. Naturally there's more to say.
It also sounds like there is a bit of anger shining through on this one.
There's definitely a lot of passion on these songs. I write the songs and when I was writing them it was in a darker period of my life. It's a heavier, darker record.
You went through a divorce recently (with Avril Lavigne). Will it be a divorce heavy record?
Not necessarily, it was just the mood I was in I guess. I don't really analyze it and I don't really think about it. I just write songs and whatever comes out comes out. If I'm feeling that way in my own personal life then it will come through in my music.
Your last record [Underclass Hero, 2008] polarised its predecessor [Chuck, 2005], which is probably the darkest you've taken your music. Dave departed after the release of Chuck - was he the kosher metalhead in the band?
No. Like I said, I write the songs, so if he was around his influence didn't have any effect on what I was writing. This record is heavier than Chuck I think - there are a lot of heavy guitar riffs. It's a very guitar driven record. But he's been gone for about five years now, I don't even think about him.
Your music has always seemed like a bit of a two-sided coin to me. There's the radio-friendly side and then there's the other side - which appears less shinier, but not necessarily less valuable. When this coin is dug up in 20 years time, which side do you think would be of more value to you?
Errm…the thing that helped me make this record, or gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do, was that I just said fuck everybody. I don't give a shit about radio, I don't give a shit about press, I don't care what critics say about this record. All I care about is the band and the fans. People will come to our shows regardless, we don't need anyone. Fuck everybody, you know? If anyone says anything bad about the record, or radio doesn't play it, fuck off I don't give a shit. We've been around for 11 years now and it's better than ever.
You've always been slotted into the genre of "pop punk": the term itself is a bit oxymoronic. Do you think there can be an authentic balance between the two?
I don't even say the term pop punk. It's not even a term that I think about. I never felt like we were a pop punk band because we really weren't. If you listen to each record there are so many different styles of music: punk, metal, hip hop. I've never considered ourselves anything but a rock band.
Do you think your music has flown the flag a bit for insubordinate teenagers?
No, because I would never say that I have the ability to do that. All I know I can do is write what I feel like writing at the time and if it can connect with people then it's a great thing. Write music and hope for the best.
I saw you play in 2004 and I can remember two things about the show: the intensity of your live performance, but more vividly, the intensity of your fans. You had the "band shirt" fans . And that's what I think about when I think of that genre. The kids are there for the music and nothing else.
Yeah I totally agree, which is why I think we've been able to sustain ourselves throughout the years. People like the music. There are always going to be people who hate it, but the people who love it really love it and I realised that's why you don't need anybody.
What has music done for you?
What has it done for me? It's been the cause of everything good and bad in my life (laughs). I mean music is my life. It's all I've ever done - I've never done anything else in my life to make a living. Music is my life.
You filmed a documentary in 2005 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Could you tell me a bit the trip and how it came about?
The purpose of the trip was to do a documentary on the civil war which had been going on there, because it was this crazy war that nobody knew about. It's the biggest war since World War II - 3.5 million people have died, so we thought let's go there and try and bring some light to this and see if we can help it.
And did you?
Everything was going fine for the first 10 days, because the war was meant to be over. It'd been over for a year - there was a ceasefire and the UN was there. For some other reason it started up again and we were caught in the middle of it, literally, because the war started up on the street that our hotel was on. There was one rebel group on the left-side and one on the right-side and they were shooting back and forth with AK-47's and rocket-launcher grenades which kept hitting our hotel. We couldn't get out, so we were stuck, but also dodging bullets and grenades and RPG's and stuff. We started running from room to room because rooms were getting blown up. Finally after two days of this the UN had to come in with tanks and get everybody out.
So what is your stance on places like the Congo being subjectively and brutally disenfranchised, so businesses can profit from its resources?
Having seen it first hand it's awful. There's huge money in foreign companies who take all the resources from these beautiful countries like the Congo and it's terrible.
It's been happening for a long time.
Yeah it has…and what I realized is you can't change it. Being young and naive at the time we were thinking, we can help change this! I really felt like we could do something. I don't know what can be done. I think it can possibly be changed over time, but I certainly don't think there can be a quick fix.
I would guess that enough people in positions of power don't want it to be fixed.
Yeah, exactly. There's just not a lot you can do. I don't want to sound negative and say don't try…it's just I, don't know what to do?
Was it hard to return back to Canada and think about making music again?
Well we'd made the record already and we'd literally flown from the studio to the Congo. Then we flew from the Congo to go and play at the Download festival in England. So we flew from being shot at and almost killed to going straight on stage. I remember we played awful, it was a horrible show - but it was the greatest show of our lives. I'll never forget that, looking over at the guys and we had a smile on our face and realised this is what we are meant to be doing.
What do you think the future holds for Sum 41?
Scream Bloody Murder album is going to come out and then we're going to tour the world.
You're playing the Soundwave festivals down here - have you had a chance to look at the bill?
Yeah, it's a great bill. I can't believe how many bands are playing on it. It's one of the best lineups I've ever seen. I'm going to watch Iron Maiden every night!
I want to talk about your new album first up. I heard a couple of songs off it last night and It sounds like it will be quite a divergence from your previous record?
Yeah, it is. It's a lot heavier. We had a lot of different things to say on this record, too It was written over the course of three years, so you go through a lot of different life changes. Naturally there's more to say.
It also sounds like there is a bit of anger shining through on this one.
There's definitely a lot of passion on these songs. I write the songs and when I was writing them it was in a darker period of my life. It's a heavier, darker record.
You went through a divorce recently (with Avril Lavigne). Will it be a divorce heavy record?
Not necessarily, it was just the mood I was in I guess. I don't really analyze it and I don't really think about it. I just write songs and whatever comes out comes out. If I'm feeling that way in my own personal life then it will come through in my music.
Your last record [Underclass Hero, 2008] polarised its predecessor [Chuck, 2005], which is probably the darkest you've taken your music. Dave departed after the release of Chuck - was he the kosher metalhead in the band?
No. Like I said, I write the songs, so if he was around his influence didn't have any effect on what I was writing. This record is heavier than Chuck I think - there are a lot of heavy guitar riffs. It's a very guitar driven record. But he's been gone for about five years now, I don't even think about him.
Your music has always seemed like a bit of a two-sided coin to me. There's the radio-friendly side and then there's the other side - which appears less shinier, but not necessarily less valuable. When this coin is dug up in 20 years time, which side do you think would be of more value to you?
Errm…the thing that helped me make this record, or gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do, was that I just said fuck everybody. I don't give a shit about radio, I don't give a shit about press, I don't care what critics say about this record. All I care about is the band and the fans. People will come to our shows regardless, we don't need anyone. Fuck everybody, you know? If anyone says anything bad about the record, or radio doesn't play it, fuck off I don't give a shit. We've been around for 11 years now and it's better than ever.
You've always been slotted into the genre of "pop punk": the term itself is a bit oxymoronic. Do you think there can be an authentic balance between the two?
I don't even say the term pop punk. It's not even a term that I think about. I never felt like we were a pop punk band because we really weren't. If you listen to each record there are so many different styles of music: punk, metal, hip hop. I've never considered ourselves anything but a rock band.
Do you think your music has flown the flag a bit for insubordinate teenagers?
No, because I would never say that I have the ability to do that. All I know I can do is write what I feel like writing at the time and if it can connect with people then it's a great thing. Write music and hope for the best.
I saw you play in 2004 and I can remember two things about the show: the intensity of your live performance, but more vividly, the intensity of your fans. You had the "band shirt" fans . And that's what I think about when I think of that genre. The kids are there for the music and nothing else.
Yeah I totally agree, which is why I think we've been able to sustain ourselves throughout the years. People like the music. There are always going to be people who hate it, but the people who love it really love it and I realised that's why you don't need anybody.
What has music done for you?
What has it done for me? It's been the cause of everything good and bad in my life (laughs). I mean music is my life. It's all I've ever done - I've never done anything else in my life to make a living. Music is my life.
You filmed a documentary in 2005 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Could you tell me a bit the trip and how it came about?
The purpose of the trip was to do a documentary on the civil war which had been going on there, because it was this crazy war that nobody knew about. It's the biggest war since World War II - 3.5 million people have died, so we thought let's go there and try and bring some light to this and see if we can help it.
And did you?
Everything was going fine for the first 10 days, because the war was meant to be over. It'd been over for a year - there was a ceasefire and the UN was there. For some other reason it started up again and we were caught in the middle of it, literally, because the war started up on the street that our hotel was on. There was one rebel group on the left-side and one on the right-side and they were shooting back and forth with AK-47's and rocket-launcher grenades which kept hitting our hotel. We couldn't get out, so we were stuck, but also dodging bullets and grenades and RPG's and stuff. We started running from room to room because rooms were getting blown up. Finally after two days of this the UN had to come in with tanks and get everybody out.
So what is your stance on places like the Congo being subjectively and brutally disenfranchised, so businesses can profit from its resources?
Having seen it first hand it's awful. There's huge money in foreign companies who take all the resources from these beautiful countries like the Congo and it's terrible.
It's been happening for a long time.
Yeah it has…and what I realized is you can't change it. Being young and naive at the time we were thinking, we can help change this! I really felt like we could do something. I don't know what can be done. I think it can possibly be changed over time, but I certainly don't think there can be a quick fix.
I would guess that enough people in positions of power don't want it to be fixed.
Yeah, exactly. There's just not a lot you can do. I don't want to sound negative and say don't try…it's just I, don't know what to do?
Was it hard to return back to Canada and think about making music again?
Well we'd made the record already and we'd literally flown from the studio to the Congo. Then we flew from the Congo to go and play at the Download festival in England. So we flew from being shot at and almost killed to going straight on stage. I remember we played awful, it was a horrible show - but it was the greatest show of our lives. I'll never forget that, looking over at the guys and we had a smile on our face and realised this is what we are meant to be doing.
What do you think the future holds for Sum 41?
Scream Bloody Murder album is going to come out and then we're going to tour the world.
You're playing the Soundwave festivals down here - have you had a chance to look at the bill?
Yeah, it's a great bill. I can't believe how many bands are playing on it. It's one of the best lineups I've ever seen. I'm going to watch Iron Maiden every night!