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Simple Plan
The members of Simple Plan. Left to right: Comeau, Stinco, Bouvier, Lefebvre, Desrosiers.
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genre(s)	Pop punk
Years active	1999 – present
Label(s)	Lava, Atlantic
Website	Official website
Members
Pierre Bouvier Jeff Stinco Sébastien Lefebvre Chuck Comeau David Desrosiers

Simple Plan are a French Canadian pop punk band based in Montreal, Quebec. They have released three studio albums: No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002), Still Not Getting Any... (2004), and Simple Plan (2008); as well as two widely marketed live albums: Live in Japan 2002 (2003) and MTV Hard Rock Live (2005).

History

Formation (1993–2002)

Simple Plan began in 1993 with the formation of a band named Reset by friends Pierre Bouvier, Charles-André "Chuck" Comeau, Philippe Jolicoeur, and Adrian White.¹ Reset toured around Canada with bands such as MxPx, Ten Foot Pole, and Face to Face, but only managed to gain modest popularity.² The debut album, No Worries, was released in 1998, and Comeau left soon after to go to college.¹ Two years later he met with high school friends Jean-François "Jeff" Stinco and Sébastien Lefebvre who were in separate bands of their own, and combined to create the band.¹ Meanwhile, Reset released a second CD, No Limits (the two CDs would be re-released as a single CD in 2006, with liner note comments from Bouvier and Comeau). In late 1999, Comeau and Bouvier reacquainted at a Sugar Ray concert² and Bouvier left Reset soon after to join Comeau. David Desrosiers replaced Bouvier in Reset, but when asked to join the foursome, he too left the band six months later.¹² This allowed Bouvier, who had doubled as the band's front man and bassist, to concentrate on the singing.

The origin of the band's name is obscure. Band members have given various comical responses on this point, including that the band was their simple plan to avoid getting a "real" job. However, most likely, the name is derived from the movie "A Simple Plan".³ The name was only intended to be temporary, but they never thought of anything better, and with shows coming up for the new band, the name stuck.⁴

No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002–2004)

Main article: No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls

In 2002, Simple Plan released their first studio album, No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls which led to the subsequent singles: "I'm Just a Kid", "I'd Do Anything", "Addicted", and "Perfect". Simple Plan is noted as saying that they were aiming at a pure pop-punk record.⁵ The name of the CD echoes the popular tag line for the sport of rugby, "No pads, no helmets, no pussies."

The record was originally released in the United States with twelve tracks, ending with "Perfect". Enhanced and foreign editions came in several different versions with up to two additional tracks in addition to the original twelve. For example, the U.S. release contained the extra songs "Grow Up", and "My Christmas List", while the UK release contained the extra songs "One By One" and "American Jesus" (a live version of a cover of a Bad Religion song), as well as the two music videos, "I'd Do Anything" and "I'm Just a Kid".

The record also contained vocals from singers from two other pop-punk bands as "I'd Do Anything" included vocals by Mark Hoppus from blink-182, and "You Don't Mean Anything" included vocals by Joel Madden from Good Charlotte.

In 2002, the year Simple Plan released the album, Simple Plan played more than 300 shows, topped the Alternative New Artist Chart, and played a sold out tour in Japan.⁶ In 2003, the band played as a headliner on the Vans Warped Tour — an appearance memorialized in the comedy slasher film, Punk Rock Holocaust, in which four of the five band members are killed. They would also play short stints on the Warped Tour in 2004 and 2005. Also in 2003, they opened for Avril Lavigne on her "Try To Shut Me Up" Tour.⁶ In addition to several headlining tours, they have also opened for Green Day and Good Charlotte.⁶

Still Not Getting Any... (2004–2006)

The band performing at Agawam.

Main article: Still Not Getting Any...

In 2004, Simple Plan released their second album, Still Not Getting Any... which led to the subsequent singles, "Welcome to My Life", "Shut Up!", "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)", "Crazy", and (in some markets) "Perfect World".

As mentioned before, when writing "No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls", the members of Simple Plan were aiming at a pure pop-punk record. This time however, when writing "Still Not Getting Any...", the members of Simple Plan were noted as saying that they were not limiting themselves to the punk genre, but rather letting themselves write "good music".⁵

According to the bonus DVD of Still Not Getting Any..., while making the CD the members of Simple Plan thought of many names including "Get Rich or Die Trying" and "Danger Zone". They decided on the name Still Not Getting Any... for a list of explained reasons. The most popular and most likely reason is because the members of Simple Plan thought that they weren't getting any good reviews, Bouvier once noting that they only had one recent good review in Alternative Press. Another reason may be because they were still not getting any respect. There are many more variations the band members have given, as anything can really be put after the ellipsis, including "better", "smarter", "funnier", and the obvious sexual connotation. Comeau once described the name of the album as "versatile".

"Still Not Getting Any..." showed a dramatic change in Simple Plan's style as well. They still kept their style of downbeat lyrics matched to upbeat music, but managed to transcend from the standard pop-punk genre. Although many of the tracks on this CD still carry the feeling of teen angst that is probably most noticeable in the song "I'm Just a Kid" from the first album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls, the general slant of this album tends toward slightly deeper and more mature lyrical themes, as well as a more mainstream sound that edges away from the pure pop-punk style of their last album. Some critics have pointed towards the inclusion of 'classic' or 'mainstream' rock elements, claiming the album 'de-emphasizes punk-pop hyperactivity in favor of straightforward, well-crafted modern rock'.⁷

In 2005, Simple Plan also released the live album, MTV Hard Rock Live, which contained live versions of songs from both the previous albums.⁸ The album came in two different versions — a standard one, and a fan pack edition.⁹ The standard edition included audio of the whole performance, an acoustic version of Crazy, two live videos of the performance of the first two songs "Jump" and "Shut Up!" and a small booklet of pictures of the performance.⁹ The fan pack edition contained audio and video of the whole performance in 5.1 surround sound, three acoustic tracks for "Crazy", "Welcome To My Life", and "Perfect", a 32-page color tour book, and an exclusive Simple Plan patch and pin.⁹

Simple Plan (2006–present)

The band in concert

Main article: Simple Plan (album)

After nearly a year and a half in support of "Still Not Getting Any...", the band ended most touring in February 2006, giving only a few shows, taking some time off, and beginning work on their third CD. As announced in Bouvier's official MySpace blog, Bouvier headed to Miami as on about March 21, 2007 to work with an unnamed producer, who later proved to be Dave Fortman. The band entered the studio for pre-production in Los Angeles on June 29. On July 15 they returned to Montreal, to record at Studio Piccolo, the same studio at which they had recorded "Still Not Getting Any...." They finished recording and headed back to Miami and LA to mix the album. The final part of making their record was done in New York and it was officially completed on October 21, though they later re-entered the studio to re-record some of the lyrics to the song "Generation."

"When I'm Gone", the first single to Simple Plan was released on October 29 as part of a fan webcast the band held. Simple Plan was produced by Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Mudvayne), Danjahandz (Timbaland, Justin Timberlake) and Max Martin (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne). On February 17, 2008, Simple Plan achieved their highest charting single in the UK. After the first two albums just missed the UK top 40, "When I'm Gone" gave the band their best chart position in the UK, coming in at number 26.

On November 29, 2007, the band announced that the CD release would be postponed from the originally-scheduled January 29, 2008 date to what proved to be the actual release date of February 12, 2008. The Japan version, with two bonus tracks, was released on February 6, 2008.¹⁰

After completing an around-the-world promotional tour, Simple Plan played several December 2007 holiday shows. After continued promotional tours in January, Simple Plan played a triple bill in Camden Town, London on January 27, 2008, with the first show featuring songs from the band's first CD, the second from the second, and the third from the new release. The band played four U.S. shows in late February, and completed a European tour running until late April. The band played four Japan dates, followed by several European festivals and headlining dates.

Chouinard subs for Stinco, June 2008

On May 8, 2008, a Quebec newspaper reported that Stinco would temporarily leave the band from June 3-29, 2008 for paternity leave.¹¹ Stinco was not part of the band's performance at the Download Festival on June 13 but returned for the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto on June 15. He did not play at the band's performance at a summer festival on June 21 in Altamont, New York or June 22 at Six Flags New England, with Québécois musician Jean-Sébastien Chouinard taking his place at each show. Stinco returned for the band's show in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 28.

On July 1, 2008, the band gave a free concert on Quebec City's Plains of Abraham, attracting a crowd of 150,000 to the Canada Day show.¹²

After a return to the Far East in late July and early August, the band played a Cross Canada Tour¹³ with Faber Drive, Cute is What We Aim For¹⁴ and Metro Station (The All-American Rejects were originally announced for the tour, but canceled due to other commitments). After dates in Germany, Mexico, and Australia, the band will play its second full European tour of the year from October 28 to November 29, playing Estonia and Poland for the first time. The band will then play Tel Aviv and Dubai in early December.

In August of 2008, "I Can Wait Forever" was chosen as the title track for Animax Asia's original feature length anime LaMB. The band will be appearing in the sci-fi cyberpunk anime feature as themselves, performing the theme song. Animax Asia will also be making an animated video for "I Can Wait Forever".¹⁵ In October 2008, the band recorded their own version of The Hockey Theme, for forty years the theme song for Hockey Night in Canada.¹⁶

Style

Simple Plan's style of music has been described as pop punk by the Calgary Herald¹⁷, The Torontoist,¹⁸ Channel News Asia,¹⁹ Allmusic,²⁰ NME,²¹ MTV,²² The Guardian,²³ the BBC,²⁴ Rocklouder²⁵ About.com,²⁶ Entertainment Weekly²⁷ and VH1,²⁸ Punk Rock revivalist by New York Times,²⁹ "Dude Rock" by Digital Spy³⁰ With Rolling Stone reviews describing No Helmets No Pads... Just Balls as punk³¹ and their self titled album as 'arena-emo'³² also described as having "classic punk energy and modern pop sonics" in a Marketwire press release.³³ In an MTV interview, frontman Pierre Bouvier stated that he considered them more pop music than rock.³⁴

Side projects

In addition to their involvement in the band, members of Simple Plan have been involved in a number of side projects.

Simple Plan Foundation

The members of Simple Plan have helped nonprofit and advocacy groups by donating to many established organizations such as the MTV Asia Aid benefit, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), RADD (Recording Artists, Actors, and Athletes against Drunk Driving), and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. However, after being frustrated because the members did not know exactly where their money was going to, the Simple Plan members created the Simple Plan Foundation,³⁵ a foundation that focuses on teen problems ranging from suicide to poverty to drug addiction.³⁵³⁶ As of December 9, 2005, the Simple Plan Foundation had raised more than $100,000.³⁵ The list of donors included venues on their November-December 2005 Canadian tour.

In June 2008, Bouvier announced plans for the foundation to distribute $100,000 to organizations that aid children or families experiencing difficulties due to handicaps or illness.³⁷ Selected organizations included Children's Wish Foundation, Kids Help Phone, and War Child Canada, as well as College Beaubois (the high school alma mater of all band members except Desrosiers).³⁸

In addition, the members held a benefit for the Foundation in August. While the band's January show in Montreal had been to benefit the Foundation, this was described as the first fundraising event. It consisted of brunch and an acoustic performance.³⁹

In October 2008, the band announced a special release, on iTunes, of the single Save You, to benefit the Foundation, with a special composite video featuring cancer survivors. The song was inspired by the struggle with cancer of Bouvier's brother Jay.⁴⁰

Damage Control

Damage Control was a reality television series hosted by Bouvier that first aired on MTV on March 6, 2005. On Damage Control, parents would tell their teenage son or daughter that they would be going away over the weekend, but in actuality, they are just a few houses down monitoring them with Bouvier via hidden cameras and microphones. The teenager would be placed in awkward situations, in which he/she must make decisions. Parents can earn money if they can guess what their teenager will do, and after the parents come back (always with too little time for the teenager to conceal what has occurred), the teenager, still unaware of the filming, can win money by confessing. Two seasons were filmed before any episodes aired, and no more were planned or filmed, due to the likelihood that once the episodes aired, potential subjects would quickly catch on to what was going on.

Man of The Hour

Man Of The Hour is a Simple Plan side project that features Sébastien Lefebvre and Patrick Langlois. Man Of The Hour is an internet radio show found on iTunes-Radio-Alternative-idobi radio. During one of the radio shows, Langlois and Lefebvre noted that Man Of The Hour started as a joke, and that they wanted to begin a band with the name because they liked how it sounded. They also said that they did not have the time, and realized it was faster to do pre-recorded radio shows instead. The show features commentary by Lefebvre and Langlois, who devote part of the time to playing songs they like, and feature occasional guests (either in person or by telephone), including Simple Plan members and crew.

Role Model Clothing

Role Model Clothing is a clothing line owned by Bouvier, Comeau (who are often seen wearing the shirts on stage and in the band's music videos) and Langlois. The line mostly markets shirts, which invariably include the words "ROLE MODEL" in the design. Erik Chandler, the bassist and backing vocalist of the band Bowling for Soup, is often seen wearing a Role Model shirt.

Miscellaneous

Patrick Langlois

Langlois (wearing a Role Model shirt) records Simple Plan's performance in Osaka in May 2008.

Patrick Langlois (also credited as "Patrick C. Cunningham") is a friend of the band who was responsible for merchandising (he is sometimes seen running the "merch stand"), and also acted as webmaster, photographer, and videographer.

On November 7, 2008, Langlois posted on the band web site that he would continue to work for the band, but would also become a mobile journalist for Musique Plus. He stated that he would continue to bring fans "all that is Simple Plan".⁴¹

Langlois has appeared in most Simple Plan videos, with his appearances sometimes painful. He was kicked in the crotch in "I'd Do Anything", had a bowling ball dropped on his head and his apartment destroyed in "Addicted", was knocked down by the band in "Don't Wanna Think About You", and had a bottle smashed out of his hand by a tennis ball hit by Lefebvre in "When I'm Gone". He is also seen giving a thumbs up in "Perfect", as a valet in "Shut Up", in the crowd in the gym in "I'm Just a Kid", getting out of a car in "Welcome to My Life", and as an emergency services worker in "Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)", a video in which his pseudonym was used as the name of the drunk driver.

Affiliation with "What's New, Scooby-Doo?"

Earlier in its career, Simple Plan had a strong affiliation with What's New, Scooby-Doo?. They performed the theme song and appeared as themselves in the episode "Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman" in which excerpts from "The Worst Day Ever" are twice heard,⁴²⁴³ as well as parts of "You Don't Mean Anything".⁴⁴⁴⁵ Additionally, "I'd Do Anything" can be heard in the episode "It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine".

The song "Grow Up" was used in the 2002 movie, "Scooby Doo", and is on the movie's official sound track as well. The song "Don't Wanna Think About You" was used in the movie, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. The video for that song depicts the band racing across town to get to a premiere of a Scooby-Doo movie (the dog and other cast members appear at the premiere), only to arrive seconds late.

MYplash

In 2005, a Simple Plan MYplash was marketed. MYPlash is a reloadable gift card, acceptable wherever MasterCard Debit is accepted.⁴⁶

Many of the MYplashes were music themed, other participants including Good Charlotte, Avril Lavigne, and Breaking Benjamin.⁴⁷ The idea behind the MYplashes was that parents would like it because it would provide their teens with financial experience with no risk of overspending, as it was not an actual creditcard, but rather a reloadable giftcard.⁴⁸ Teens would like the band theme and that they were trusted with money that they could spend freely.⁴⁹

The cards did not prove popular, likely owing to high charges attached to it, such as a 3% to 10% recharge fee, only getting a 3% recharge fee when paying more than $200.00.⁵⁰

Discography

For a full, detailed list, see: Simple Plan discography

Studio albums

Awards and nominations

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (June 2008)

Awards

Favorite Canadian Band Award in Canada (MMVA, 2002); Favorite Canadian Band Award in Canada (MMVA, 2003); Favorite Canadian Band Award in Canada (MMVA, 2004); Choice Music: Rock Group (Teen Choice Awards, 2005); Favorite Canadian Band Award in Canada (MMVA, 2005); Juno Fan Choice Award (2006); Favorite Canadian Band Award in Canada (MMVA, 2008)

Nominated

NME Award for Best Music DVD A Big Package For You 1999–2003 (2004); Juno Award for Group of the Year (2005); VMAs Best Cinematography in a Video (2005); VMAs Best Editing in a Video (2005); Choice Rock Group (Teen Choice Awards, 2008)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Simple Plan

• Official Simple Plan website
• SP Crew, The Official Fan Club for Simple Plan
• Role Model Clothing website
• Simple Plan french website
• Simple Plan at Last.fm
• Simple Plan at MySpace