You've undoubtedly heard A Simple Plan's first single, "I'm Just a Kid," off their latest album, "No Pads, No Helmet . Just Balls" by now: a peppy, pop-punk song mixed with an indescribably odd dose of teenage angst. In a simple, yet memorable chorus, vocalist Pierre Bouvier evaluates all 23 years of his life and cries out,
"I'm just a kid/ and life is a nightmare/ I'm just a kid/ I know that it's not fair/ Nobody cares that I'm alone/ and the world is having more fun than me."
Like it or not, Montreal, Quebec's A Simple Plan is invading your music television station. In fact, they'll be opening for Good Charlotte next Tuesday at the Showplace Theater. After tours with Blink-182 and Green Day, and upcoming tours which bring them to Buffalo in October and December with Good Charlotte and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones respectively, these five Canadian friends are trying to rock the States and overseas.
A Simple Plan is, well, simple. When asked where they got their name, Bouvier responded, "We had our first show coming up and me and Chuck and the guys, we were all like, 'Well, we never want regular jobs, and we just want to meet different people, so it seems like a simple plan.' It just fit, y'know?"
A band schooled in punk by the likes of NOFX, Lagwagon and other California punk bands that helped the scene expand in Montreal, A Simple Plan now find themselves moving on to other lands, such as Australia, Thailand, and Japan. While their music has met success elsewhere, it's now hitting the States, fueled by their new single, "I'd Do Anything," which features long-time friend Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 on background vocals.
"When we toured with them this summer, we learned a lot about being reciprocal, y'know? Punks helping punks, friendship in place of competition, we learned to live the punk ideal. Mark heard the track and really dug it, so we had an obvious question and a very cool answer about having him on the record."
Bouvier hasn't taken a lot of guff about signing to a major label, Atlantic Records. Nor does he care.
"It's not weird after a while. If you want to see the world and not worry about the bills, you need the help of a major. We do what we feel is right, if people think it's wrong, let them start their own band, have their own message."
What message does A Simple Plan convey?
"I don't know if we have a message. We write songs about s?Ae_ that happens to us, or our friends, and hope people can try and relate, like a sort of therapy. The type of ways we, well I at least, were affected by the Cars, Fat Wreck Cords and Epitaph artists. You can see it these days with kids relate to cool bands like Something Corporate and Dashboard Confessional."
Subliminally or not, A Simple Plan seems to write catchy tunes at a level for the high school-aged pop-punk crowd. As a result, A Simple Plan is hitting and making an impact on MTV's Total Request Live. The band is very adamant about voting for them on their Web site, but Bouvier's in-person attitude is more laid back.
"It is real cool that people are voting and that it's going well. I guess we were (regarded as) 'wannabe' for a while if you are familiar with the show, and now we're taking a step up. Usually bands advance by companies sponsoring their songs and whatnot, and we just kind of got added by touring a lot and telling people about it. It's a pretty fun video too, y'know? If it works for the fans, then it works for us, but it's not our focus or anything."
So how in the world does the band deal with the age-old problem of telling the real fans from the poseurs?
"Well, it's easily faked, cause they can just do what everyone else is doing exactly and get away with it. That's how you can get into it, I guess, you fake at first. I guess kids are going to like what they like, whether they fake some 'scene' or not, so why worry about it? If they think the songs we write are cool, then screw some stupid poseur label, y'know?"
A Simple Plan is part of a sold-out show at Buffalo's Showplace Theater on Tuesday October 15, as they open for Good Charlotte. Also playing will be Autopilot Off (formerly Cooter). Check out www.simpleplan.com for more information.
