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During the turn of the millennium, the music video for Sum 41’s Fat Lip was highly influential, alongside 9/11 news broadcasts and Sonia Jackson’s unexpected baby on EastEnders. It features handheld camera footage of teenagers skateboarding with fireworks, girls with Chelsea haircuts, and crust punks provoking the police. The video captures the essence of the subculture becoming mainstream, and the song’s catchy pop-punk chorus remains a standout in the genre’s history.
The 2001 debut album All Killer No Filler featured Sum 41, who originally formed in 1996 in Ajax, a small town near Toronto. Despite being teenagers, they signed with Island Records, following in the footsteps of Green Day and Blink-182 as A&R scouts sought out the next symbols of discontent. The songs from All Killer No Filler were widely promoted, appearing on MTV, video game soundtracks, teen dramas, and superhero blockbusters. During the band’s peak of success, lead singer Deryck Whibley attracted paparazzi attention due to his relationships with Paris Hilton and later marriage (and subsequent divorce) to Avril Lavigne, leading to constant tabloid speculation about his personal life.
Whibley, the main songwriter and sole consistent member of the band, shares from his Los Angeles studio that he believes the mid-90s punk rock scene emerged as a replacement for Nirvana and filled a void in the world.
Despite the many challenges and trials faced by Sum 41, frontman Whibley remains surprisingly calm. This is unexpected for a band known for their upbeat riffs and playful pranks. They have endured a near-fatal car accident that resulted in the departure of their original bassist, Richard Roy, before the release of their album All Killer. Over the years, members such as lead guitarist Dave Baksh and drummer Steve Jocz have come and gone, with Baksh even returning at one point. The rapidly changing music scene of the 21st century, from pop-punk to emo, grime, crunk, and new rave, also posed a threat to the band’s success, as they achieved the “rockstar dream” with their first two albums, complete with wild hotel parties and sharing stages with legends like Judas Priest’s Rob Halford. At a party in 2003, Whibley received some sage advice from an unexpected source: Ice-T, who told him, “The only thing harder than becoming a mack is remaining one.”
In the late 2000s, this statement was proven true as Sum 41 faced difficulty in filling venues with a capacity of 300 people. As the indie music scene shifted towards a more flannel-and-beards aesthetic, the band went in the opposite direction and leaned towards a heavier sound. Lead singer Whibley explains, “We made this choice because it was what we truly wanted to play. We have always followed our own desires, even if it hasn’t always been successful financially or professionally. But that has never been a concern for us.”
Whibley has faced significant health challenges, including a 2010 assault in a Japanese bar which worsened a pre-existing back injury. He turned to heavy drinking as a form of self-medication. In 2013 and 2014, he was hospitalized due to alcoholism-related liver and kidney failure. In September 2023, he was hospitalized again with pneumonia and the possibility of heart failure. He was released shortly before the release of Sum 41’s eighth and final album “Heaven :x: Hell,” which was less than two weeks away. The word that comes to mind is “exhausting.”
Whibley nonchalantly acknowledges the situation with a blend of resilience and rockstar confidence. “These challenges come and go, and you just have to push through them. I never considered altering my path; it was always about moving on and continuing with the next album, staying on tour. I’m an inherently future-oriented person, so when something happens, I just focus on figuring out today and tomorrow.”
After being together for 28 years, the band Sum 41 has decided to end their career with the release of Heaven :x: Hell, a double album that combines their two main musical styles of skate-punk and heavy metal. The album consists of 20 fast-paced tracks that showcase the band’s determination, although they were not aware at the time that it would be their final record. This was especially surprising for Whibley, who felt reinvigorated after taking a break due to the pandemic.
“When the pandemic began, I thought to myself, thank goodness I have a break from this damn band!” he chuckles. “It consumes my thoughts constantly.”
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He was requested to write songs for other musicians while TikTok became a hub for emerging alternative music. The When We Were Young festival highlighted the success of emo and pop-punk icons, while mainstream artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Willow, and Machine Gun Kelly embraced the genre. The demand for 00s pop-punk resurfaced in the industry. According to Whibley, pop-punk was initially dismissed as a fleeting trend, but with time, people recognized its artistic potential.
After not writing in that particular style for more than ten years, Whibley was uncertain of his ability to do so. As an experiment, he decided to sit down and attempt to write, and surprisingly, he was able to produce material at a rapid pace.
The album received a boost from two significant occurrences. In April 2020, the artist and his wife Ari became first-time parents with the birth of their son, Lydon Idby. Surprisingly, the only music that would soothe their baby was semi-old school punk, including bands like NOFX and Pennywise. The artist reflects, “It took becoming a parent to remind me of the greatness of that music,” finding a deeper significance in it beyond just nostalgic high school memories.
A couple of months later, the chance to market his collection arose. Initially, he declined, but during another contemplation, he posed the question: “What if I suddenly had nothing? Would that be thrilling or disheartening?” He remembers. As a result, he sold everything in August 2022 for an undisclosed amount. “And my imagination immediately reached a new peak. I felt the urge to write for myself once more.”
The songs that came out first, including infectious lead single Landmines – the band’s biggest US hit since Fat Lip – had Whibley tapping into the same energy he had as a teenager writing All Killer No Filler. “When did I write all those songs? It was when I had nothing and I had to make my life happen. I had to go out there and make the band heard,” he says.
The discussion about breaking up did not occur until after the album was completed, but the lyrics hint at the impending end from the very beginning with the line: “Time is just a fuse / It’s burning fast, nothing lasts.” Whibley reveals that on a subconscious level, he was aware of what was to come and had been suppressing thoughts of disbanding for years. It was a surprise to his bandmates when he finally brought it up. “Since my life revolved around the band, everyone assumed that I loved it because it was all I did! But in reality, I was burning out because it was my entire existence.”
According to him, determination and persistence are common traits in the Whibley family and have been beneficial to all of them. He comes from a background of lower working-class individuals, none of whom have pursued extravagant careers, but who all maintain a positive outlook. At 43 years old and having been sober since 2014, he is content with being guided towards his destiny. This does not mean he has not made mistakes, but they usually occur when he tries to control the outcome and focus on improvement. He has learned that accepting life and its path leads to success.
I wonder if there is a possibility of a future reunion for rock bands, who often come out of retirement. Lead singer Whibley reflects on their decision to break up, noting that while they still enjoy performing and being together, they have chosen to end things on a positive note. The future is uncertain, but Whibley is determined to move forward and potentially never look back.
Source: theguardian.com
