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April 06, 2022 Post a Comment

This calendar week, Billboard is publishing a series of lists and articles celebrating the music of twenty years ago. Our 2001 Calendar week continues with an honest conversation with Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 nigh his band'sAll Killer, No Filler album, which became a runaway pop-punk success and spawned ii of the year'southward biggest stone hits, but which he continues to accept mixed feelings about two decades afterwards.

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As bands like Light-green Day and blink-182 gained mainstream success through the nineties, punk was becoming pop music and one of the most ubiquitous sounds of the era. Helping drive it around the turn of the millennium was Sum 41, thanks to their exhilarating debut full-length, All Killer No Fille r .

T he Ajax, Ontario foursome were erstwhile-school punk stone and metal enthusiasts who paired their prankster sense of humor with an earnest, hardworking approach to their craft : 2000's EP, Half Hour of Power , signaled such nascent talent. But it was 2001'south All Killer , with its irresistible melodies and anthems of adolescent disillusionment, that resonated with teenagers everywhere and landed equally one of the most vital releases during an exciting crossover moment in music whe north pop – punk fully emerged equally a worldwide phenomenon .

With its ripping opening riff and say-so defying lyrics, lead unmarried "Fat Lip" exploded that summer, reaching No. 1 on Billboard 'southward Culling Airplay and launching the ring into superstardom. "In Too Deep" and "Motivation" were also hits , just the album was true to its title: songs like "Handle This," "Heart Set on," and even the cocky-described metallic gag "Pain for Pleasance" made for a sharply-written and spirited record that also earned the respect of Sum 41'due south heroes , like NOFX and Judas Priest. "This is gonna exist the adjacent gr eat heavy metal ring of the future," Rob Halford declared later sharing the stage with Sum 41 at MTV's 20 th anniversary celebration. "Nothing was always the same in my life , ever once more , later that performance," frontman and songwriter Deryck Whibley tells Billboard .

Sum 41 has continued to evolve creatively, farther expanding their sound and exploring their punk and metallic roots as fourth dimension has progressed. But t wo decades later on, All Killer No Filler remains an important entry in the pop – punk canon , and a generation-defining classic. Beneath, Whibley speaks to Billboard about making the album — which he yet doesn't consider to be particularly good — as well as playing the Vans Warped Bout during the band'south outset flush of fame, and how teens are still flooding the front end row of their shows two decades after. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

I read that earlier Sum 41 got signed, y'all filmed yourselves making action flick spoofs, so mailed it to record labels. What was the response to that ?

We sent our music out outset and it got turned down by everybody. And we would film ourselves doing stupid stuff, like bulldoze-by water gunning people, egging houses, and cutting it with some film of our shows. I put this affair together, simply for our friends, and our manager saw it and said, " This is great. Let's put a three-minute video together with your music, we'll send this out to record companies, and this is your demo. " And so, it was a affair of weeks . East very label in the U.S. was trying to sign us , and it turned into a big bidding war. Just it was the same music — that was the funniest part. Th at music was already turned downwards by everybody.

Did whatever of those songs make it to All Killer ?

Mostly Half Hour of Power . I'd have to go sentry that tape again.

Yous already had lots of songs in your pocket, though, correct?

I recall I had "Rhythms," "Zero on My Back," "Motivation," "In Too Deep," and "Handle This" all ready. W e knew those were stronger songs, and then we thought, " Allow's salve those for the real anthology. " And Island Def Jam was like, " Let'due south put something out right away " and basically Half Hour of Power was our setlist. I was simply going to go along writing, merely the label wanted us on the route promoting it.

Did touring help flesh out the residuum of All Killer ?

I was just writing wherever I could, lilliputian bits here and there, in s — tty backstage dressing rooms or hotel rooms or hiding in the back of the van. And so I'd come home — I'm even so living at my parents' house , and my parents go to bed at, similar, f — rex viii o'clock[ Fifty aughs . ] S o I used to sit in the auto with an acoustic guitar and record recorder. Simply it was freezing, because it'due south Canada, and I can't turn the car on , considering you can't waste material their gas. It was actually difficult. I think I just had another song or two past the time nosotros went in to do All Killer .

You mentioned "Motivation" and "Nothing on My Back," and there's others like "Heart Assail," which are relatable anthems of adolescent angst. Were you inspired by your own experiences growing up?

Yeah, definitely. Information technology was but coming from adolescent malaise, actually. For me, music's always been somewhat autobiographical, and I simply write most what I'yard going through at the time or what I notice in my day-to-twenty-four hours life. My writing style hasn't quite changed much from the very kickoff. There'southward not a lot of thought, yous know, it just kind of comes out. I specifically recall writing "Heart Attack" and it all only poured out.

I love "Handle This" for that reason, existence so emotional . I t shows off your songwriting.

Oh, cheers. Stylistically, that song was totally different. I t was more acoustic and it didn't really sound similar a Sum 41 song. It was really very similar to Tertiary Eye Bullheaded, "How'southward Information technology Going to Be." And we recorded in that type of mode and it didn't make whatsoever sense. So one day, I was like, " Allow's try to heavy this matter up a flake, " and I picked upwardly a guitar — I don't write in front of people, ever. Merely now and so, if yous're put on the spot, sometimes you come up with something actually cool. And I came up with that intro, daw-naw-balalaw , this riff, instantly.

Speaking of Third Heart Blind, how did you feel well-nigh alternative radio at the fourth dimension?

When "Fatty Lip" came out, I remember the music scene was very heavy. You had Dark-green Twenty-four hours and you had blink-182, simply that was kind of information technology in that world. At that place was Limp Bizkit , Linkin Park, Korn, Staind . It was such heavy, dark rock. Information technology wasn't like "Fat Lip" was a shoo-in, like, " This is going to be a blast hit. " It was more, " This is really going to exist difficult. "

I call back what stood out on All Killer was these great pop sensibilities. Was that something you kept in heed?

No, it's just what came out. I've always liked that kind of stuff. Even when I mind to heavier music, I only like the heavier stuff that has real songwriting and melody. Metallica, to me, is amazing, just they're kind of The Beatles of metal. Their melodies are so catchy and it's so accessible. Like, my mom can like Metallica — merely it'due south not Slayer, yous know? It'due south simply dissimilar. I think I've ever gravitated more towards things that have popular sensibility to them.

All Killer was produced by Jerry Finn, who worked with Green Mean solar day, glimmer, and Rancid. How did he aid shape information technology ?

He did a lot for us musicianship-wise. Nosotros were horrible musicians. And nosotros didn't know we were horrible. We actually idea nosotros were pretty practiced — because nosotros were then bad then young that you don't even know y'all're not practiced . And he kept telling the states to do information technology over, it's non good enough. And we're like, " What is this guy talking about? It sounds great! " But he kept pushing us a nd y'all would showtime to run into it take shape and hear how better it was. In fact, the mode I produce our stuff now is basically how Jerry Finn did All Killer . I built upon that since, but it's all rooted in what I learned from Jerry Finn.

I have to ask almost those Iron Maiden homages, "Introduction to Destruction" and "Pain for Pleasure." How did they come up to be ? Was that from your honey of metal?

Yeah, but both were last – second jokes. The record was done and nosotros're like, "Wouldn't information technology be funny if we did something like The Number of the Beast intros?" Our A&R guy at Island Def Jam, we're like, "He's got the greatest voice, let's ask him to practice it." He's like, "Yes, I'll do it!" and went in and recorded it. "Pain for Pleasance" was a joke — Dave [Baksh, guitar] wrote this little Iron Maiden thing, he started playing it and then Steve [ Jocz , drums] started singing over it. x minutes after, he had the whole song written. We're like, "Well, nosotros gotta record it for fun." And then, of grade, we're similar, "Well, we have to put this on the anthology, it's amazing!"

They were never intended for annihilation, except to make us laugh — just similar that video that we were signed on. Information technology was always – everything — only to be funny for ourselves.

Practice you accept a favorite from the album?

"Fat Lip." It was a favorite when I wrote it. It'south still one of my favorites. I don't go ill of it, ever.

When it was released, it felt similar the success was firsthand.

The thing that made information technology explode, really, was when nosotros performed for the MTV 20th anniversary party. We wanted to do one of those classic awards-manner collaborations , and nosotros brought out Tommy Lee, Rob Halford from Judas Priest, and we played a little medley of music. We opened the whole show and nobody really knew who we were. And from that moment on, our lives were never the aforementioned. T he song went into heavy rotation everywhere around the world and it just exploded right at that moment. That was, like, five months into it being out on radio.

What was playing Warped Tour that summer similar?

It was crawly. It was everything we ever could have imagined and more than. Nosotros started the band considering we went to Warped Tour '96. We said, " We have to beginning a band considering we take to exist a part of this thing. " We got the total tour in 2001 and it was great. Rancid was on that bout, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones , Fat Mike, The Vandals, Pennywise. So many bands we grew up listening to. And we got to hang out with these guys every single mean solar day.

I recollect when we started the tour, we were terrified, because nosotros were the merely band that was on MTV at that moment. W e just thought, "N ot only are the bands going to hate us, but the fans are going to hate united states, " because information technology's such a punk rock tour. And it was the complete opposite. Everybody embraced u.s.a., we made friends with everybody. I'g notwithstanding friends with all those guys, to this day, because of that tour.

We had to pop off the tour to practice that MTV anniversary party — and when we came dorsum, it was a whole different thing. Our shows, the fans. The bands nosotros knew were similar, "Y ou guys are virtually to exist superstars. " Nosotros're like, "What? What are you talking nearly? " They're similar, " You have no thought what'southward nigh to happen. "

Did you have whatsoever memorable interactions with the big pop stars of the time?

I recall we did [MTV's Total Asking Live ] one fourth dimension and we were on the same day equally Will Smith and Christina Aguilera, and so nosotros were all put into a green room together. I was actually just going through a bunch of footage, because we always had a video guy with us, and I came across that twenty-four hours where we're all hanging out. And Will Smith and us are having a good fourth dimension and talking . And Christina would, like, not speak to us any. So, we're all in this room together and we're all kind of interacting, but she wouldn't look at us or admit us, even though she's a foot away from u.s..

But I mean, I don't arraign her. I'm super shy, too, so if nobody talks to me, I don't talk to them. So that's probably perfectly understandable. Merely we establish information technology funny at the time. We wanted to say hello — we always want to be friends with everybody.

What do you remember from the "Fat Lip" music video shoot?

Bengay . That week, we had a ton of printing, we had 2 days to do the video shoot, then right afterwards nosotros had a concert in L.A. And that show, our legs were merely burning . You could barely stand. And nosotros were just putting Bengay all over our legs. After the show, there's and so many people nosotros had to meet, and the entire dressing room just smelled like Bengay . Everyone kept saying, " Why does information technology scent like Bengay ? " [ Fifty aughs . ] It was so potent.

It was really fun. There was no concept to that video. [Director Marc ] Klasfeld came from a documentary background and nosotros came up with this idea of having no idea. Information technology's sort of like the Seinfeld affair, a show about nothing: we'll invite all these fans to come down and nosotros'll simply moving-picture show them doing stuff. And it came out smashing. Information technology was similar a mini documentary of suburban punk rock kids outside of Fifty.A.

You besides worked with Klasfeld on "In Too Deep," which riffs on Back to School .

Nosotros actually asked Rodney Dangerfield to be in the video. His response was, " I don't do videos. " And nosotros were on Warped Tour — the same 2001 tour — and we asked Fat Mike to be the coach. He said no. It'southward funny because we joke most it, still. He nevertheless brings it up to me, to this day, similar, " I should take f —male monarch done the video! "

T his album was then defining . Do you have any thoughts on its legacy?

You're so generous. No, I don't. I've ever felt it wasn't that not bad, if I'm beingness honest. I never quite understood — to a point where it'due south almost like , when people tell me it means a lot to them or it was a really good album compared to other records, I ever think they're lying. I've always felt similar, " Have you listened to it lately, though? I don't know if it holds up. "

I've e'er felt somewhat, like, when that record had success — and maybe this is just my personality — but when it got as successful as it did, I had an immediate embarrassment. Almost like you get ashamed of your own success. In some mode, I experience like information technology snuck through and anybody'south going to detect out presently that it's not that good. Like I sort of cheated my mode, somehow. That'due south kind of what I've always felt about that record. I call up if I listen to it now every bit I'm older, maybe I can be a little flake more objective. But for the longest fourth dimension, I idea information technology wasn't a very proficient tape.

T lid'southward interesting because, I think every bit artistic people, nosotros tend to exist and then critical of ourselves, especially our piece of work. I wonder if that's part of information technology.

I think if I could have sung that record improve, I'd probably similar it more. My vox was so undeveloped at the time. I was and then immature , and I knew dorsum in those days I didn't like my vocalism — I still don't actually like my voice, but I'm a much ameliorate technical singer than I was. I simply hear my voice straining then hard to become through some of those songs. Maybe that'due south what information technology is.

Pop – punk is in another wave today , with artists like Machine Gun Kelly. How would y'all compare this new class to your generation?

I don't think I would compare. Music is always evolving, changing. From what I hear from Car Gun Kelly, information technology doesn't quite sound like what information technology was 20 years agone — which is good, it should be different. I hateful, if you call it pop – punk, does it mean it has to sound the same as it did twenty years ago? When All Killer came out, there was no genre called pop – punk. That came later , once at that place were so many bands. But the whole thing of a revival, I've heard this, similar, seven times in the by 15 years.[ Fifty aughs . ]

It'southward always been there.

I think the bands and the music are always there. I think it's a youthful sound, and then kids, every generation, seem to get into information technology. That's what we find with our own music. When we go on tour, it'south not people from xx years ago — yes, some of those people are there, usually at the back, but the whole front row , equally far as I can run across, looks the same every bit it did twenty years ago. It's all mid- to belatedly-teens. I didn't look that when nosotros were writing those songs. You merely don't even recall nigh that, simply that'southward sort of what's been happening.

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Source: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/9552792/sum-41-interview-all-killer-no-filler/