December2014 by Jen Rees

in this issue...

OUR TEAM Editor in Chief

Jen

General Editor

Maddie

Copy Editor

Leeann

Assistant Copy Editor

Renee

Managing Editor

Sonia

Design Editor

Freda

Writers: Jen, Maddie Jane, Lenore, Luke, Marly, Leeann, Kailia, Sinja, Rossi, Sian, Sonia, Kelly, Maria, Eleanor, Rose, Nathaniel, Damla, Sophie, Jelena, Brett, Vitoria, Emelie, Josselyn, Gemma, Freda, Bree

the madden brothers

red ink

Contributors: @SimpleplanDrug Photographers: Belinda Glass Reedy, e, Got Image LLC, Ashley Osbourne Photography. Natalie Bisignano Photography, Inside Edge Photography, Roman Zugarazo Think a photo is yours? Let us know and we will credit you

Simple Plan Space is in no way affiliated with Simple Plan, Warner Music, Atlantic Records or Coalition Entertainment. This is a magazine made entirely by fans for fans. Simple Plan Space is only available online and always for free. All contents belong to their respective writers. 2

my echo

2014 in review

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK... Hi All! Another year has flown by! In this edition you can read all about what Simple Plan have got up to this year. I guess December is a time to be thankful and I would like to show my appreciation to all the hardworking editors, writers, proofreaders. Huge thanks to Freda who shares with me the bulk of the work involved getting the magazine out and looking fantastic. Also without the help of Leeann, Maddie, Sonia and Sophie the other editors I would of gone crazy! Thanks to the long list of writers that you can read on this page. We had a massive year for interviewing bands, with well over 50 of Pop Punk’s/Ska/Metal bands best bands. Highlights for me were Zebrahead, CJ Ramone, Suicide Silence, and Emigrate. Huge thanks to all the bands, their press agents and managers for their time. Special thanks to Peter Howath of Nuclear Blast Records for his continued support and interview opportunities. Thanks to the photographers that have shared their creativity and expertise with me. Peter Coates from Inside Edge Photography, Sammy Roenfeldt, Rebecca Houlden Photography, Connor Feimster, IIan Benitah, Emma Rees Photography, Ashley Osbourne, Belinda Glass Reedy, Ron van Rutten, EK Photography and many more. A special thank you to Domi who is the best source of SP news and is happy to share our editions and let us grab news items of Simpleplan.cz Of course I have to thank Pierre, Chuck, Jeff, Seb and David as without this band I would not have started this magazine that has led to so much more. There has been a bit of a change in focus over the last few months and this may evolve into a more general pop punk magazine next year. Thanks to our readers, that have increased to over 660,000 and climbing. Thanks for everyone that has entered competitions, retweeted our tweets and shared our editions on facebook. I do hope I have not forgotten anyone, apologies if I have! I wish you all Happy Holidays and we will be back in February. Peace, Jen @justjenrees

CONTENTS 4 behind the scenes: music management 8 song of the month: you don’t mean anything 10 the madden brothers: the californian files 12 the madden brothers: q&a 16 the madden brothers: perth & melbourne gig reviews 20 red ink fact file 22 red ink interview 26 ryan hamilton interview 28 the matches fact file 30 the matches interview 36 take us to vegas interview 38 My echo interview 42 sp news: montreal gazette interview with jeff 44 sp news: what new with pierre? 46 sp news: what have the guys been up to lately? 48 divides fact file 50 fresh fruit: divides 52 gig review: mayday parade & tonight alive 54 sp news: 2014 month by month reviews 74 sp news: november 2014 calendar 76 sp news: november twitter talk 79 quiz 80 international band news 82 aussie band news 84 pledge music: jen’s picks of the month 86 fan of the month 88 a writer’s best friend

Written by @MaddieBirkett

What’s going on behind the scenes?

 Music Management 

his month here at SP Space we’ve decided to let you in on what happens before your favourite bands and artists go on tour or put their albums on iTunes. You can thank their management! Prepare to be enlighted on the amount of hardwork and dedication that is required to make all of this happen, and discover if the music industry is something to consider for yourself! We were lucky enough to interview:

Marc Kantor (Manager of Zebrahead, and also in a band of his own, Patent Pending)

Dayna Wright (Manager of Call The Shots)

and Liam Clifford (FOH Sound Engineer/ Tour Manager for Sheppard, The Trouble With Templeton and Masketta Fall)

What is the most fun/rewarding part of managing/tour managing a band/artist? MARC: Besides travelling the world with my best friends? Drinking a whole lot on the job and sleeping in late. Oh, did I mention alcohol yet? (this interview is sponsored by alcohol) DAYNA: Doing something I love and working with a group of people who love it just as much as I do is definitely rewarding and fun – I think the most rewarding thing for me as a manager is when you see the band out on stage and they have the undivided attention of their audience and you see the faces light up with smiles – that feeling is indescribable because for an hour or so people lose themselves to the music and you know you have been part of the reason the band are there giving the audience something which has made their life better in that moment. LIAM: Getting to know them. When you tour consistently and for long periods of time with a group of people they become closer than family. You experience everything with them whilst you’re on the road and it builds life long friendships like no other.

tent overview. LIAM: As a tour manager you don’t really need any. I would recommend interning for promoters, artist management companies and events companies to gain experience and contacts. My background is in sound engineering and I have a Bachelors Degree in Audio Engineering.

In order to organise a tour, what process do you need to go through? MARC: Emails and patience, especially for over seas tours. I hate spending money on long distance phone calls so I prefer emailing. With this form of communication, you better be prepared to not be answered for approximately 18 years. DAYNA: Organising a tour, where do I start! I guess the tours are always arranged around something that the band is promoting, whether it be a new single, EP or Album etc. From there I start to block out potential dates and make sure the band have a clear schedule and work out budgets (if you are working with a booking agent, they will be the one to take over form here). This is where the fun starts when you have to begin to structure the tour route and you hope the dates you want are available at the deWhat qualifications, if any, do you need/ sired venues. Once the dates are locked recommend? away then we move onto looking at supMARC: Qualifications would include being port bands, local bands and getting the able to stay away from home, friends, and promotional materials/artwork together. family; work extremely hungover, have no Once the tour is locked in and announced care for your liver’s well being, and last then you begin to role out your promobut not least, learn how to sleep on airtional strategies, publicity campaigns and planes. work on the logistics for the entirety of DAYNA: I don’t think qualifications are al- the tour. ways needed – a lot of it is more so down LIAM: You need to look at everything to your experiences and networking with from tour routing, hotels, production, as many people possible. Textbooks and flights, freight etc. Making sure absolutely countless lectures will never be able to everything is in order from the moment teach you and prepare you for the spoyou step out of home to the moment radic changes that occur in the industry you get back. We run on tight schedules and in your job role. In saying this I did do and a small set back can delay a day by a Music Business course for 6 months, hours. You need to be on the top of your what this gave me was a starting point game all the time as a tour manager and and a foundation with a very broad condeal with issues as they arise quickly and

What is the best thing you’ve experienced through this career path? What type of things do managers need MARC: For sure, seeing this be made into to consider/organise when a band/artist a career is the best thing I have experiwants to record some music, includenced. This is a hobby turned career and ing promotion and distribution (iTunes, anyone who is lucky enough to be apart stores etc.)? of it is grateful. MARC: Thankfully this isn’t a big part DAYNA: The pinnacle of it all would have of my job. Most of the time, a band can to be seeing Call The Shots play on the figure out when they need to or when it is Warped Tour. The touring and meeting so time to record due to their scheduling and many people that I now call my friends is tours coming up etc. also great. DAYNA: Sometimes the bands have a LIAM: Getting to travel the world is the general idea of where they want to remost amazing thing I think anyone can cord, who they want to record with and do. I get paid to do this and work with that means the manager is more so the some amazing people, I love it. communicator. I look at blocking out the recording time at the studio with the How did you get involved with the music producer/engineer so it fits with the sur- industry? rounding schedule of the band. There is MARC: My grandma bought me a guitar also mastering, album artwork, how/who when I was 13 years old and was stupid will distribute the release to be organised, enough to never get a real job. Words of shooting of a music video, is there a label wisdom: go to college and get a real job. on board, then setting release dates, arDAYNA: I have had a passion for music ranging publicity for the release. since I was 8 years old when I began to learn the piano. A fire was set a light in What daily jobs do managers perform me from that day and I knew that all I (apart from booking shows/ organising wanted to do was submerse myself in studio time)? music somehow. I got into it through MARC: This depends day by day. For talking with other industry people and I example, today I am in England so my think they could see themselves in me jobs were, eat really crappy food, be really with my determination and passion for miserable due to the rain, and try to find the industry. In meeting these people I any working internet in the whole country. was presented with different opportuniDAYNA: Daily jobs fluctuate depending on ties that put me in front of other industry what is coming up for the band – it genpeople and so it went on. It does come erally involves a lot of emails and phone down to networking. calls. A really cool description was from LIAM: I’ve been a musician myself for Daemon Atkinson, he is the day to day many many years and I decided I needed manager of American country artist Joe a back up in case I wasn’t a rock star! So Nichols. He said: “a manager is like air I got into working behind the scenes in traffic control” - this is a pretty good way audio, lighting and tour management and to describe the role. As well as wearing realised I loved it just as much. Slowly but many hats myself, I am the go to person surely I worked my way up and now I’m for all the incoming enquiries from the touring with some of the greatest bands outside world and also anything that the the word has to offer such as Sheppard. band want/need I put these ideas in to action. I filter, coordinate, organise, direct, How do you go about getting bands/artdelegate and am on call 24/7. ists the role of a supporting band in big effectively.

shows? (Is it a lot about networking and having contacts? MARC: I think for the most part, getting a support slot on any tour is about being friends with the band headlining, or having a ton of money to throw at them in hopes they pay attention to you. Unfortunately every band I work with and/or am in, have absolutely no money DAYNA: That’s exactly right, it’s all about networking and having the right thing that the promoters are looking for. What’s the most important thing you have learned through this career and do you have any advice for those wanting to enter the music industry? MARC: There is no reason why anything or anyone becomes successful. If you consider yourself unlucky, maybe try a different route, or be prepared to work your ass off. You need to love what you’re doing most importantly. It takes way to much work to hate the project you’re working on. DAYNA: Follow your gut instinct, always be on guard and remember that actions speak louder than words. You’ve got to really love what you do, don’t expect much money but expect to volunteer and do A LOT of free work. There is an awful lot of blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes but your goals and your passion will keep you going. Prepare to be knocked down 100 times before someone opens a door for you. It can be a very open ended journey, but very rewarding at the same time. LIAM: I’ve learnt to stress less and manage my time more efficiently. Not only do I tour, but I run my own production company in Sydney, so at any given time I could have events running simultaneously in multiple states or countries. Work hard at what you want to achieve with this industry, meet as many people as you can and ask as many questions as you can. Interning and volunteering with people/companies shows great initiative

and goes a long way in starting your career off on the right foot. How did you go about booking Zebrahead for Soundwave? MARC: Thankfully, Zebrahead has a great booking agent, and an even greater relationship with everyone at Soundwave Festival. Everyone there has treated the band so great and has made every trip to Australia one of the best trips of our lives. Being in a band as well as managing a band, is it difficult to balance both? MARC: Not with the bands I deal with. They are so welcoming and easy to work with. They try to work with schedules and are super kind in every way possible. Im sure there are shitty bands to deal with though, NO THANKS on them though! Although there was a bit of a dilemma and some confusion, how did you manage to book a local (but still very talented) band (Call The Shots) for the entire Warped Tour? DAYNA: Networking, right place right time and a bit of luck. They are an extremely talented, hard-working band and it certainly shows. Describe what your role as the tour manager is. LIAM: My role is to make everything happen on the road. I make sure the band get up on time in the morning, make sure they make their flights, press commitments, shows etc all on time. I look after all the tour finances, ensuring everyone gets paid. I book extra production and backline as required by the shows, make sure the band has their rider and anything else they need. Basically anything and everything that happens on tour I have to oversee and make sure it happens correctly and on time.

g n offt th o o h ssong Written by Sophie Carlbrant @sophiecarlbrant

you don’t mean anything Title: You Don’t Mean Anything Album: No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls Length: 2:28 Genre: Pop, poprock Label: Atlantic

You don’t mean anything is the third song of the debut album: No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls that was released back in 2002. Simple Plan is in the same genre as bands like blink-182 and Good Charlotte and on this album, both Mark Hoppus and Joel Madden contributes with their vocals. The Good Charlotte singer is a guest vocal on this particular song. It’s an uptempo song with hard drums starting right away. You can’t help but stomp your foot in the ground when you hear it, it gets you going insantly. Maybe I’m just not good enough for you, is the first sentence and it’s pretty much about not being exactly that – not goo enough – but that you shouldn’t care. It’s a bit of an angry song saying sung from a teenager. The drums take off and you only hear vocals and guitar until the drums step it up and comes back again before the finish.

h t n e he month h mo fan comments: It’s a song I usually forget but always enjoy when I listen to it. – Sophie Carlbrant

I really love this song because I always remember when I heard it for the first time - watching “What’s New Scooby Doo?” when I was 11 or 12. - Freda, Canada

“you don’t mean anything” Maybe I’m just not good enough for you And maybe I just don’t wanna be like you And maybe I just don’t wanna know How low you’re ready to go I’m not gonna change You can’t make me, woh You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me You’re what I never wanna be Tell me, does it feel good to be like you? And tell me, why should I waste my time with you? ‘Coz maybe you always bring me down I’m sick of being pushed around I’m not gonna change You can’t make me, woh You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me

You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me You’re what I never wanna be I know you think you know me You don’t know anything I know you want to help me I don’t need anything Don’t tell me where to go I don’t need you to know, no woh You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me You don’t, you don’t, you don’t, you don’t You don’t mean anything to me You’re what I never wanna be You don’t mean anything to me You’re what I never wanna be

the madden brothers...

A I N R O F I L A C THE Written by Marly @thepiesendure

“I feel like this is the happiest day of my life, everyone in Perth smiles.” – Joel Madden in Perth, 7th November, 2014 Benji and Joel Madden are the twins who, rightly or wrongly, are the recognisable face of Good Charlotte, that one band that was everyone’s teenaged anthem raiser. Don’t lie, you all blasted The Anthem and sang it Karaoke style in your rooms. (And, yes…I love Billy and Paul as much as the rest of you.) You could be forgiven for thinking that they became big names because of Joel and then Benji’s appearance on Australia’s The Voice, but they have been well loved by Australia for much longer than that. With five albums under their belts with Good Charlotte they have done well stamping a distinctive sound on the music scene of the noughties. However, as they’ve grown older, matured and learned a lot in their journey through life – with Joel becoming a father, Benji an uncle – they decided they wanted to go back to where they began.

their ultimate dream. “If we get to California, we’ll make it.” According to Joel they hitchhiked to California, just him, Benji and Benji’s acoustic guitar. Though Benji is quick to correct his twin by telling audiences in Australia, that they ‘had a friend with a car’ so no hitchhiking occurred. When they arrived in California they started the band Good Charlotte, which brought them moderate success. Just kidding. With friends, Paul Thomas and Billy Martin they embarked on the biggest journey four small town boys could experience. With five studio albums under their belts you would be hard pressed to say they do not know the business. At the end of their tour cycle for the fifth album, Cardiology the boys took a wellearned break from the band to pursue other projects and family life.

The twins hail from Maryland, US where their illustrious career started off in a suburban bedroom at the tender age of eighteen (probably even younger). Best place to start a music career, am I right?

During this period, between when they took a break from Good Charlotte, Benji and Joel continued to produce and write music, not only as a duo but with other artists. They have collaborated on several dance/hip-hop projects, written for, and written with bands such as 5 Seconds of Summer, All Time Low, One Direction and with artists and friends such as Pharrell Williams (of Happy fame).

Benji and Joel speak of their journey from that bedroom to California, which was

Joel and Benji also found time to be in Australia for the reality singing show, The

AN FILES

The Voice Kids

Voice, meaning they have spent the better part of three years actually living in the land Down Under. They have performed at many a Football [NRL and AFL] final and TV spots, and have become, in the eyes of the adoring public, honorary Australians. And then, with some prompting by Pharrell William, they embarked on a new project as The Madden Brothers. Returning to what inspired them when they were growing up, as Benji mentions on their website bio, they wanted to just write songs that were true to who they were. Without the face of a band, just their voices and a guitar. And, so they began to write the record that I believe truly defines them at this stage in their journey. Through The Voice it gave them opportunities to perform while on tour with Keith Urban and to stamp their distinctive character across the Australian music scene. They also returned the favour, after releasing their debut album as the Madden Brothers, by taking two of Joel’s team members on their Greetings From California Tour, Danny Ross and Frank Lakoudis. I believe this is one of the things that sets them apart on the world wide music scene. They appreciate music, for music’s sake. To them it is an art form and a way to express what is going on in their world. They did it with Good Charlotte, and now they are doing it as the twins.

The Voice Australia

The Madden Brothers have always been exactly that, really: Two young men who wanted to escape from the mundane and bring music to the masses. Now, at the age of thirty-five, I believe they have succeeded. Go buy Greetings From California; you will not be disappointed. And, if you ever get the chance, go see them live. Experiencing them perform the songs from GFC and from their Good Charlotte back catalogue, was an absolute delight. The Voice Australia Photos: Screencaps from Eve’s @iamcheerbear YouTube Videos of the Perth show

the madden brothers Melbourne Soundcheck and Q&A 31st October 2014 Written by Jen @justjenrees A few lucky people were able to see Joel and Benji and their band do their soundcheck and they played us a couple of songs as well as told us some stories. Then they answered our questions before we got to meet them and have our photo taken with them. Joel: So are you guys excited for the show tonight? Crowd: (Cheering!) Benji: Do you all have the record Greetings from California? As we are going to play a lot of songs from that. We are also going to play some Good Charlotte songs. The whole theme behind this tour is Greetings for California and we are playing songs that we wrote in California. So only the Good Charlotte songs that we wrote in California, not the ones we wrote in Maryland. Joel: But still some pretty good ones! Benji: Does anyone have any idea what the whole point of Greetings from California is? Crowd: “Growing up!”, “Follow your Dreams”, “Remembering where you came from”, “Believe in yourself” Joel: This is our band. We bought our band with us for our show, they are all Australian. We found out that we are all related, they all have hyphenated Madden on the end of their names. We are going to do some covers for you but is there anything that you want to hear? Crowd: (Some songs were called out)

Benji: We want to practice doing some acoustic songs in front of you, anyone want to hear a song from Greetings From California? I feel like “Brixton”. I am just throwing that out there. I know no one said that but I just feel like singing that. Joel: Acoustic? Benji: Yep. They do a lot of throat clearing and making jokes. They played “Brixton”, encouraging us to sing with them. Benji: That was the first time we had ever done that song acoustically! Good practice! Anyways. Hope you guys have a good time tonight. Joel: Just having a sip of tea, I am a sipper. Benji: Do you want us to let you into a little secret of ours? We are going to play a song that we wrote but for another Australian band called 5 Seconds of Summer. You guys know them? They are some of my favourite dudes on the planet, I love those guys so we are going to play one of their songs.

“when you make records, you want to

realise that’s not a reason to make a recor like you, they want to hear what yo Joel: A little different rendition of it but not so different.. Benji: I first heard about these guys through a friend his name is John Felman, a producer, I’ve been friends with him for 16 years. Joel: He has a video of me when I was 17 jumping off stage with my backpack on like a parachute. (laughing) Benji: Kids, back in the 90’s we used to jump off stages with backpacks on. He actually called me up and told me about them. Joel: I actually heard about them from some kids from the airport in Australia, there were a bunch of kid waiting, it was like two years ago, I was just like who are these guys? More importantly who are these kids waiting to see them? I will cut you man! If you don’t sign this! I just want a selfie! That’s what they said! Benji: So anyway we are going to play “Amnesia” for you. Joel: OK so first questions, but the band need to go and change into their all rhinestone costumes now, we designed them, wait till you see the outfits I made them I stayed up all night sewing them. (Laughing) Sadly some of the people present at the Q and A had bought their kids and the hostess thought that the kids asking questions were more important than the music journalists! However they were cute. A lot of the time Joel and Benji spoke over each other or finshed each other sentences but where I can tell I have separated the the the

twins answers! What is your favourite song from Greetings to California? Benji: What is that song......: “I am going to let it burn burn burn” (laughing) Joel: Mine is probably “Californian Rain” because musically it means a lot to do a song like that and the story means a lot to me. Also “U R” as it means a lot to me because it is written about my family, my kids and my wife so those two probably mean the most to me. But the whole record is more than just about the songs, it’s about the whole process of the three years, musically wherever we were going. It meant a lot to us to make this record and to come and play show like this, and people accept that is a big deal for us. The whole record really means a lot to us but those two mean that most to me. Benji: I like “Brother” that’s like a really meaningful song to me and it is a song I’ve really wanted to write for a long time. But I couldn’t figure out how to do it. And then at one point it just came out, it meant a lot to have that song on our record. This record for us was really about breaking free, I mean it’s a good thing we love Good Charlotte so much. But Good Charlotte did not really belong to us anymore, in a way it really belongs to the fans which we love. But when you make records you really want to make everyone happy and sometimes you realise that’s not a reason to make a record because that’s not why the fans actually like you, they want to hear what

make everyone happy. and sometimes you

rd because that’s not why the fans actually

ou really want to say.” - Benji madden you really want to say. This record was about making the record for ourselves, sounds like “Brother” would probably never be on the radio is a really important song for me to get out. Where else have you done your concerts? Joel/benji: We have done concerts in a lot of places, all over Australia, we’ve done concerts in South America, all over America, Asia, Europe, Canada, United States of America, everywhere! We’ve played concerts in basements, living rooms, churches, arenas, clubs, birthday parties all different places. Bar mitzvah’s, that mitzvah’s pretty much all kind mitzvah’s! Just about everywhere. We’ve played at AFL games, NRL games, NFL games, NHL games, any games we’ve play it. We have played for hillbillies! Growing up some of my favourite memories were sitting in my lounge room with my grandpa playing guitar. All four girls singing at the top of our lungs to Country Road and Hotel California. What are your songs that you remember growing up? Joel/Benji: Pretty much the same, we used to listen to records when we were kids, we used to listen to them in our living room on the floor and our dad would play Eagles and anything from the Beach Boys. A lot of music that we didn’t appreciate at the time. As we got older and angrier we started a band in our bedroom and we didn’t

want to sound like old music, we want to sound fast and loud. Even on those early records I think the melodies were born out of the Beach boys and Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Billie Joel. Our dad used to play The Zombies for us, he just loved music and so those were our best memories sitting around a record player in our living room. That’s what the making of this record was all about, was listening to records, and we did put it out on vinyl for anyone that wants to have that experience can have that experience. Listening to music with your parents as a little kid I think is a really important thing. I get to share that experience with my kids. My kids don’t know who any bands are so when they are experiencing music for the first time it’s pretty amazing to watch what music does not real so there’s nothing better I think. It’s a great memory to have. What AFL team to you go for? Joel: I go for the Swans. Benji: Hawthorn. The music industry is very harsh and bands are trying to express themselves through their music, what is it you are trying to express? Joel/Benji: I think that there are many tiers to that question. I think we have always wondered our overall vibe of our music-united people because I think that everybody in their life goes through pain. We all experience pain. We all go through painful things and it’s like this chronic pain that we all

the madden brothers Greetings From California Tour Crown Theatre, Perth 7 November, 2014 Written by Marly @thepiesendure Let me tell you about the best concert I have been to in my last twenty-nine years of life. That is correct, The Madden Brothers impressed me. Which is more surprising than you could know. To be honest, while they were in their Good Charlotte days, I was in no real hurry to see them live. Though I loved the studio albums, I always preferred when the twins performed their songs live acoustically as I thought that showcased their voices more appropriately. I changed my mind about wanting to see them live when Greetings From California came out, and after watching them on The Voice, and so when they announced their Australian Tour I was quick to snaffle some tickets. I surprised my friend with seats that were very close to the stage, four rows back, the closest we’ve ever been at a concert. And, they did not disappoint. The concert was opened by Melbourne band, Red Ink, an alternative Triple J find that gave a first impression to remember. The lead singer’s moves were something to behold. The energy and obvious enjoyment the band exhibited were a great lead in to The Madden Brothers. With catchy songs and an infectious attitude they had me dancing in my seat. By the time they finished our anticipation level was high. They bowed and thanked us for being a great crowd and then the crew started to set up for the Maddens’. Let me just say one thing about the setup.

Unique. They basically had footage of adverts from, I’m guessing, the late 70s/early 80s looping on the large screen backdrop. California style. Set the scene for the whole concert which was really a foray into the life of The Madden Brothers, through their music. They began with Dear Jane and ended the show with We Are Done. (See what they did there?) And, punctuated the show with Benji’s “story-time” and the twin’s banter. Highlights for me were when they performed The Eagles’ Hotel California, with Voice contestant, Danny Ross and Amnesia by 5 Seconds of Summer. There was one funny incident that I want to highlight, (and which can be found on this video: Amnesia [Live Cover, Perth 2014]) where someone was yelling out “I love you forever!” when Joel was trying to talk and Benji basically told the person to be quiet so they could talk. Everybody laughed during that exchange. It was great to see Benji and Joel interacting with the audience. It definitely gave an intimate feel to the concert. Overall the experience was one of the best I’ve had at a live concert. Definitely recommend that you go see them, they put on a beautiful show and Benji and Joel’s harmonies…heaven. Sources: www.themaddenbrothers.com/bio Greetings From California Tour, Crown Theatre, Perth 7 November 2014 anecdotes Photos: the Madden Brothers Facebook My own photos - @thepiesendure Red Ink Facebook page

the madden brothers with support: red ink hisense arena, melbourne october 31, 2014 Written by Jen @justjenrees

he crowd at Fridays The Madden’s Brothers concert were the crowd that saw The Madden brother’ first ever concert. Joel and Benji said that Melbourne was their favourite city and that they chose it for their first concert. (yeah!) I was lucky enough to be part of their Soundcheck, which was great. A few acoustic songs and a lot of story telling and jokes were told. To warm up the crowd a Melbourne band called Red Ink kicked off the night. Their catchy tunes complemented The Madden Brothers sound well and the crowd loved them. One thing that made us all giggle was the unusual dancing of John the lead singer, very similar to Peter Garrett’s style. Songs off their two EP’s Catching A Killer and The Colour Age and their new single, Going Insane were played. Quite ironic actually, as I had written in my notes while watching that Red Ink were an insane band. After a half an hour wait that seemed like days The Madden brothers came bursting on to the stage with their all Australian Band. Complete with 3 backup singers, the entire band was dressed in black. Huge screens and great lighting set the stage for what was a memorable concert. Benji took the lead for this concert announcing that he was the lead singer in The Madden brothers and when everyone cheered Joel looked like he could do with a hug! Their stage banter and stories were just like the Good Charlotte concert days. This time Benji took the lead in explaining that the message of Greetings from California was to follow your dreams as no matter what background you

come from there are possibilities for you. ‘Dear Jane’ was the first song to be played and was a crowd favorite. Most songs were played off their debut album, the highlight being ‘UR’ and ‘Love Pretender’. There were many kids in the crowd as well as some that were on The Voice like Bella. One noticeable difference from a Good Charlotte concert was the lack of swearing from the brothers and the lack of mohawks, piercing and tattoos from the crowd. Joined on the stage to sing Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s ‘Free Fallin’ was Danny Ross that Joel mentored in season 2 of The Voice Australia. Much to the crowds delight a set of Good Charlotte songs were played acoustically including Girls and Boys, Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous, I Just Wanna Live, I Don’t Wanna Be In Love and Last Night. People my age were in Heaven when that set was played! As Joel and Benji had written Amnesia for 5 Seconds of Summer they played that as well which the younger demographic loved. The last two songs were The Eagles ‘Hotel California’ and appropriately ‘We are Done.’ Even though The Madden Brothers have their critics this concert demonstrated how talented they are. Their sound has evolved and they may have left behind the punk (that I still love) but they have definitely matured musically.

red ink

Set List Dear Jane Brixton Beautiful UR Love Pretender Free Falling (Tom Petty and the Heatbreakerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cover) Girls like money I just Wanna live Lifestyle of the Rich and the Famous I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Wanna be in Love Last Night Amnesia (they wrote it for 5SOS) Brother Bad California Rain Hotel California (The Eagles cover) We are Done

red ink

Written by Jen @justjenrees

Red Ink is an Australian band based in the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne. They have been touring, writing and recording for about 10 years. This is a quote from their Pledge music page: “In that time, we’ve played close to a thousand shows, written as many songs, recorded in some of the most amazing studios and slept in hundreds of hotel rooms, tour vans and hostels… We love music and that very passion has taken us some crazy places…”

They moved to Berlin and wrote and recorded their debut album last year. It was produced by the Berlin-based Australian, Simon Berkelman. This self titled album is full of potential hits. You can purchase the album here. Another quote from their Pledge music page sums up their passion for music: “By pledging, you are seriously joining us in the fight against major label fakes, auto tuned zombies and 15-minutesof-fame reality tv contestants. You’re supporting a real, hardworking band.”

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red ink By Jen @justjenrees

Hi John, Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions before your last gig with The Madden Brothers! First a few background questions to get to know you. Are you guys the cliché band that started with a group of guys at high school? To be perfectly honest, we are! Both Brendan and I were in a music class together when he invited me to join his punk band. We played mostly Blink 182 covers in those early days, but we had stacks of fun! I would of loved to see you then! If not how did you all join and make up Red Ink? Eventually, our bass player’s girlfriend got pregnant and the drummer stopped drumming and we were left to find new members; that led to us forming Red Ink……. in 2006.. A long time ago! You recorded your new album in Berlin with Simon Berckelman from Australia. He is well known for his work with Philadelphia Grand Jury. How did you become involved with Simon? We were living in Berlin for a little while writing and recording the record. We’d

heard he owned a studio nearby so we shot him an email and went round and hung at his place and it felt right to get him to mix the record. He understood our influences and had a great vibe going on. How does your writing process go? Is it a whole band approach? Every song is different, but typically, it’s all of us jamming in a room. Ideas can start with a guitar riff, a few lines of poetry or even a drum feel. Some tracks take ages to write whilst others are done in 20 minutes. Seeing you on stage, you all look very comfortable, and John, your unique dance moves got the crowd really involved. I was in the first few rows and there were a lot of people enjoying the moves. Do you just let the music take hold of you and dance away? It’s always super embarrassing watching back footage from gigs coz I’m like; “did I really do that?” I just try and have as much fun as possible and usually wind up completely lost in the moment. Bright lights hypnotize me. You certainly looked liked you enjoyed yourself! During the concert you said that you had grown up listening to Good Charlotte,

this was also the case with me although I am not sure if I have grown up yet… how surreal was it for you to tour with the Madden Brothers? I mean it was awesome for me to meet them so for you guys to tour with them must have been mind blowing. It’s been amazing!! They’re super cool guys and have been so rad to us! When we first met them we were a little ‘fan boy’ but we’re kinda coming to terms with the fact that every artist is just that; an artist. Whether playing in a 10000 arena or to the local pub, these guys just dig the music and the chance to share it.

“on stage I try to have as much fun as possible and usually wind up completely lost in the moment.

Bright lights hypnotize me.” Not sure exactly, but somewhere along the email trail their agent asked us if we were available and obviously we said yes!

How did you get involved in the tour with Was there a fav crowd for you? Seeing The Madden Brothers? Melbourne is your home city you seem

red ink Interview to have some fans in the crowd there. Certainly some new fans now as well? Melbourne was great but our favorite so far has been the Gold Coast show. The crowd was so welcoming and friendly. Before we’d even started the first song, they were spilling out banter and the vibe was amazing! We’ve been pleasantly surprised at how rad their fans have been. Being the opening act usually means you’re rushed off for the main event, but on this tour, people have come in early and watched our whole set and really made us feel welcome! Any funny stories that you can share with us, that happened on the tour? During one of the shows, we had our set lists messed up so half the band started playing a completely different song to the other half.. It resulted in the first verse just being drums and vocals and that was weird.. or funny.. not so funny at the time! haha How different was this tour from the one that you did earlier this year? (you prob flew or stayed in a hotel not sleep on a friends couch etc) The main difference, besides the size of the venues, has been the crew!! We’ve never played a tour where two semi trailers pull up to the venue and a gang of roadies load our gear in to the venue before our flights have even landed in the city! We could totally get used to that! What was the one thing that you are taking away from this experience that you think will benefit you musically?

It’s been interesting watching which songs seem to connect more with the audiences. Our usual crowds are wasted club rats but this was an all ages, clean cut crowd so the thrashy indie jammers were not as popular as the popper tracks. It was a nice change. Have you seen a boost in sales or followers on twitter or likes on fb yet? Or is it too soon to tell? Absolutely! The socials have been going nuts!! The Madden lads have some crazy keen fans online who have been really cool online to us as well. Lots of crazy business as well ;) What is next for Red Ink? Some down time to recover? We’re going to head home and recover. Do some more writing and aim to release something in the coming months. In the meantime, we’ve shot a music video whilst on the road so that should hit YouTube etc really soon! Who knows, you may even see your face in the crowd! Sweet! Look forward to seeing that! Glad I live in your home town and hope to catch you at some gigs soon. Thanks John.

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ryan hamilton By Jen @justjenrees

Hi Ryan, thanks for answering some questions about your new album I am no newcomer to Pledge Music, I think it is an awesome idea, what made you decide to go with Pledge Music? I fell in love with the idea of it being a fan-funded album, and it really feeling like myself and the people who have pledged are making the album TOGETHER. It really does feel that way. People have helped name songs, decide the track listing and come up with more exclusives. It continues to be an extremely fun and rewarding experience. What sort of things can readers receive if they pledge? I wanted to have really cool, unique items. So, not only are their exclusive tshirts, posters etc... There are things like mini concerts on cassette, house party shows, Sharpie portraits, original paintings, guitar string bracelets, and lots of other fun stuff. What can we expect from your solo album, I have already heard some and it is my kind of music! Can you give our readers some idea? I really want this album to be upbeat and fun. I’ve written a lot of sad songs... and frankly, I’m tired of it. I’m on a mission to keep the vibe of this solo album hopeful and joyous. Lots of smiles and head bobbing :-) I knew that you were a talented songwriter from People on Vacation but had no idea that you were such a talented artist! Can you share with us

some of your artistic work? Aww. Thanks! Yeah, I love to draw and paint. The “Fake Ads” have really taken off. People are always asking for specific pieces with a favorite cartoon or movie character... and their favorite soda or candy. I love making them, and it’s pretty much the coolest thing ever for people to want my art and hang it in their house. How do you juggle being in a band, being a solo artist in both music and art? It’s tough, but when you love what you as much as I do... You figure out a way to make it happen. I’m truly blessed to get to live a life doing what I love. When this album is released can fans expect a tour? You are welcome Down Under! YES! Already talking about tour plans for next year. I’d love to head to that part of the world. Anything else you would like to tell our readers? Go pledge for my solo album!!! Haha. The album is almost funded, and it really is a lot of fun. Have you met the guys from Simple Plan? Yes. My former band (Smile Smile) played a few shows with those guys. Have you played on any tours with them?

“i’m on a to keep th this album

and jo

Just Texas dates. If soâ&#x20AC;Ś.. Any funny stories you can share? Pierre was the first person to show me how to open a Corona with a bottle of water. Haha. Cheers Ryan, hope your Pledge is a success! Readers you can check out his Pledge page here and see those unique items you can buy and support Ryan to get his music out there!

a mission he vibe of m hopeful oyous.â&#x20AC;?

the matches THE MATCHES are dusting off the cobwebs and are packing their bags and heading to our shores this January. Fans are invited to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their breakthrough debut album ‘E. Von Dhal Killed The Locals’ playing the album from start to finish whilst including other classics.

‘’During the last encore song “Audio Blood,” everyone in the audience crouched at the bridge, and at the pound of the final chorus – flared up and burst into chaos, truly living out the lyrics of loving live shows.’’ – The Owl Mag

Now, the original line up of Justin SanSouci, Jon Devoto, Matthew Whalen and Shawn Harris are in their early thirties are coming together to honour their now adult Australian fans and nostalgias with a one off tour, performing the album that kick started it all in their favourite country.

FRIDAY JANUARY 9TH – AMPLIFIER BAR, PERTH 18+ Tickets available at www.oztix.com.au

When they started out doing one show to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of ‘E. Von Dahl Killed The Locals’ it became something they never expected and having sold out shows all across the USA, now it has led them back to Australia. Don’t miss one of the most electrifying live bands you’ll ever see. This is a party you don’t want to miss. ‘’Erratic, Wild, Entertaining and completely unpredictable’’– The Dwarf

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 26th SEPTEMBER 9am AEST

SATURDAY JANUARY 10TH –FOWLERS LIVE, ADELAIDE 18+ Tickets available at www.oztix.com.au | www. moshtix.com.au THURSDAY JANUARY 15TH –BRIGHTSIDE, BRISBANE 18+ Tickets available at www.oztix.com.au FRIDAY JANUARY 16TH –OXFORD ART FACTORY , SYDNEY 18+ Tickets available at www.oztix.com.au | www. moshtix.com.au SATURDAY JANUARY 17th –THE CORNER HOTEL , MELBOURNE 18+ Tickets available www.cornerhotel.com | www. oztix.com.au PRESENTED BY SELECT TOURING & TAPERJEAN TOURING

we are looking for highly motivated people who can work to a deadline. a good understanding of English and an interest in pop punk bands is necessary.

Positions available: General Writers (own research and article writing)

Proof readers (each article prior to design and then after design)

Copy readers (Checking the entire

completed edition checking everything)

No age restrictions. be part of our facebook group and make new friends from all over the world. (every position volunteers)

Email Jen at simpleplanspace@gmail.com

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the matches By Jen @justjenrees

Hi Shawn, it’s Jen here from Music Injection. How are you going? Great how are you? Not too bad thanks. What time is it where you are? Ah darkness time! Maybe eight or nine? Not too late. Do you have a show tonight? No we have the night off, we just finished four shows in a row, in California. We fly out to Chicago and New York in a couple of days so I have a few days off here. Wonderful! You guys formed way back in 1999, the pretty much typical high school band, did it ever occur to you that you would be playing to sell out shows way in to the future? There is a tricky question, it was definitely a hope or goal of ours however the prospect of that happening did not look very good from the start. Somehow eventually we completely stumbled into this in the weirdest way, I guess of creating a lasting career. I mean we were scrap as hell back in the old days, we just graduated high school and I would just take our guitars and run around to all of the other high schools where our friends were still in school and we would just run through classrooms and throw flyers at teachers. Then they would chase us off the campuses, I mean it was really scrappy it was nothing that you would see. There was not like a textbook on how to become a big band and how to tell people about our band. It was preMySpace days so it was like it did not

saying that were on course to have a sold out 10 year reunion show. Until a few years into what we were doing we had a pretty big impact on the music scene in California where we are from. We ended up doing a show and booking bands. We got the go-ahead to do some shows in a warehouse in Oakland and there weren’t really a lot of shows in the East Bay everyone was going out to San Francisco. We were like F&*k this we need to have shows where we live. We had kids that had to drive 45 minutes to see the show we said no this is five minutes away from our house. So we started doing that we became the punk rock pacemakers of that time in our area, which was why we end up having a career that lasted. A personal question now…..Your goal has been mentioned that you want to written, which is a great goal to have. (Shawn laughs) but I don’t know if I got there but it never hurts to try. (Shawn laughs) There is still time Shawn! (both laughing) Thank you! What concept do you think that would be about for a song like that? Oh man if I knew I would rather just go ahead and write it, that’s interesting though because the inclination is to write a huge song like culturally shifting that, is what happening in the world right now. A unifying song that everyone could sing together, like an anthem. When you say on the right best song ever that’s the kind of thing that you think of. However, I feel like every success that I’ve ever had

has connected with people because how specific it is and The Matches is a perfect example. We wrote about really specific and unimportant things that happened that happened in our lives because our lives didn’t feel terribly important. So all I can write about is what I know. Like I am not living through a apartheid or culturally significant shift, like it’s not 1969, this is just like some year that is passed, that is not getting in history book. So that’s what we wrote about, we wrote about the girl at the street and like getting in a fight with the guy from London. Like that, those are the songs ended up being big

is we thought F&*k you. The best shot at being universal is being specific as possible and sometimes you luck out. If it’s too specific then you have something really popular on your hands, I feel like it’s obvious when you try to write a popular song, when I hear that people do it that makes my stomach turn over. I don’t wanna do that. We will see if I luck in to it. At some point you are right I did say that I want to write the best song but now I’m saying that the intention and the hope of doing that is out of my hands. I just need to keep writing about my life and maybe I will luck into it. (Shawn laughing)

the matches Interview The Matches went on Hiatus in 2009, what did you and the others get up to in that time? I ended up moving out to Australia not long after the hiatus to start a band with Jake from Something with Numbers. That band was called Maniac. I lived over there for a year and a half almost then my visa ran out so then Jake came over to the US and we did a couple of US tours and then some more recording over here and a bunch of shows and then his visa ran out and now we are just Skype friends. (Shawn laughing) Jake is one of my best friends and we had a great time with that. Matt actually went back to school he was always very business orientated and that was actually a nickname for him â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Justin became a painter and he is doing amazing work now and John runs a recording studio in the Bay Area. So some of us are still doing music full-time and Justin are still doing creative stuff and Matt was always our booking agent and our touring manager and he is kept that up as well.

insane! Is this what the crowds have been like? Yeah they are, especially the Bay Area crowds I mean we were their band really. That is where we broke and these people were the people that made us break. Everyone is still proud of that scene and what came out of that and we managed to just luck out, one of the lasting things that came out of it I guess. But now it is even crazier as I thought, these are adults, it was one thing to have a show in front of a bunch to 16-year-olds that was like Normandy with people coming over the barriers and people crowd surfing over the barriers, I will stop the war references right now. Now it is the exact same thing but these people are all like schoolteachers, bankers and working for trade companies. These are adults just pouring over the barricades and crowd surfing. It was nuts. My wife was crowd surfing it was crazy! (Laughing)

I notice in your press release and we have just spoken about it that your favourite country is Australia? Love that! Can you tell me why? I mean what is not You caused a bit of a stir when you to love about Australia! started posting old photos on Facebook Yes sure I can. When I first arrived in and Twitter and some fans were pretty Australia when I did my first tour there, happy! How stoked were you that there I stepped off the plane and instantly was still so much interest and you have made like 15 friends. It feels really good now on a US tour when the plan was to to connect with people, I was wondering have one show? what people were so friendly here maybe It was a bit of a surprise certainly and you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realise that that in the States, you just never know how those things are people are dickheads here and keep to going to go, yeah I was stoked. (laughing) themselves. I realised pretty quickly that I seriously want a better answer for culturally over there you work just enough you that the whole thing was just really to make enough money to hang out with surprising. We kept adding things and your friends and do the stuff that you love they kept selling out and to tour Australia, doing, whether it is to go to shows or to welI would take any excuse to come out write songs or just going to the pub and Australia. hanging out, whatever it is that you dig doing you work and so you can afford to I just watched a video you posted on do that. Then you do as much as that as your Facebook page, the crowd look possible. It is an unheard of concept in

Photo by Lauren Harris

the matches Interview America. It is like an unspoken rule that you work as much as possible here nonstop all the time. Then once in awhile you get time to hang out. Pretty much when people have enough time to hang out over here they don’t know what to do because they work so much, they go and get pissed and black out. My friends and astrologers are so relaxed. A friend just came and visited from Australia and I never heard anyone have this response to my question, my first question to him was “Dude what have you been up to?” He said “Absolutely nothing” (laughing) and he was like so proud, I have never heard of anyone to be proud of doing nothing, never heard that before. When someone asked me where I’ve been doing I feel like it’s a challenge and I feel like I have to say I’ve been busy and that I have to prove it such as I’ve been working with this band I’ve being writing that song. I feel like I have to prove that I haven’t been wasting my life, he was like dude I have done nothing and he was just proud that he had just enough money to travel and hang out with his friends. I was like !an! (he is a bit of an extreme individual) but I’d say that that would sum up the core difference between Australians and Americans. I love that about Australians, I feel like I was born with that sensibility and I feel like I connected, I feel like I was Australian born. But my Visa ran out, I lived in Sydney to years. But then I get kicked out so I need another excuse to come over! (Laughing) Yes you do! Comes in our next time it’s so much better than Sydney! The title of your album ‘E. Von Dhal Killed The Locals’ was a bit of revenge to Yvonne Doll and having to change your name to The Matches, how did that all end up? Or did you just feel good that you named the album that? (Laughing) yeah we never heard from

them again, we had to change our name from the Locals to the Matches because they sent us some letters from lawyers saying we had to change the band name. Likely it was before that we put out our first full-length album, it wasn’t too big of a deal to change our band name, I think The Matches ended up being better, anyway so it was all right with us and it gave us a unified villain and you know a common enemy goes a long way. We just sort of cartoonized the whole thing which was fun. I mean punk rock would not punk rock without someone to point the middle finger up at right? (Laughing) Absolutely! For this tour you are playing the whole album, is that right? We have done that for all the shows so far and I think that’s what we’re doing in Australia but in Australia we broke after the second album, or at least we came over to support the second album. So we will mix it up a bit. Can we expect other hits to be played as well? Like…Papercut Skin, Salty Eyes and Wake the Sun. Yeah for sure. Will you play Audio Blood last and get everyone to crouch then jump up at the chorus?

(Laughing) How have you ever even heard of that???? That was done thing that we style that was the audience, we have never said do this…… We never did it ourselves on stage,that was a thing the audience did but there are all these things at the crowd would do, and they would just invent more, I don’t know who was spearheading these but they did start moving geographically, we would see crowds in Chicago crouching down and we would think how did you guys know that? It was crazy. The last track on our record, one the main parts of the song is hummed and the crowd started meowing instead of humming (both laughing) it was so bizarre and we were like STOP! You are like ruining our song , you are making a mockery out of this song! But it just happened so we were like oh just f&*k it, this is a song with meows in it. (both laughing) I was at a Zebrahead show recently and we did that during on song. You know the

guys from Zebrahead don’t you, you did a song with them. Yeah I do. Well this united the crowd. They must of stole that of us! (Laughing) But that was not ours to begin with. Haha. They must of stole that from our fans! Will you get a chance to do some sight seeing down here? Yeah definitely. I’m going to stay on for about a week after. So I can have a bit of fun. What and do nothing too? (Laughing) Well I could chat all day but we have run out of time. Thanks for all the laughs! I better say goodbye. I will be at your Melbourne show and look forward to catching up then.Thanks Shawn. Great talking to you Jen Cya.

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take us to vegas T By Jen @justjenrees

he boys from Take us to Vegas released a new single off their latest unreleased album ‘Alive’ on Sunday 16th November.

Take us to Vegas sends us this message…. “If anyone’s ever felt berated, discriminated against or victimized we wrote this song for you! Just remember The single is “Victims” feat. Mike Champa there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and you will ALWAYS have OUR (For All Those Sleeping) love and support.” The video clip has a very powerful Check out the music video here. message... Worth a watch! You guys have had a busy time this year! You are releasing a new album soon, fans are pretty excited, is there a date set for release? We are still nutting out a few things but we are aiming for late January/early February. Mike Champa (from For all those Sleeping) features on ‘Victims’ can you tell us how that came about? Well we actually met at Brisbane Vans Warped tour because we shared a gear room. We met him and he was kind enough to stick around and watch us play. Then after that we just kept in touch, this song popped up and we thought his voice would be perfect. What was it like working with him? Really easy! We had to send the song over to him from here but then he just jumped in a studio in the States and banged it out in a day. We were pretty stoked!

How did the writing process go on this song? Did Mike assist or only sing on the single? Well for this song it was actually 100% Dean. Sometime that dude just rocks up with a whole song done and we don’t have to change anything. As for Mike’s input, we just asked him to add his special flair to the song. The message is loud and clear in regards to the song but can you explain to us the meaning behind it in your words? Well to me the song is a direct attack at discrimination. It is crazy how in this day and age we are so open to casting judgment and criticizing someone’s beliefs or way of life just because they are different. We should all be open to others morals and values and welcome them instead of casting a vicious gaze. We are supposed to be different and you should be proud of your differences, because at the end of the day if you can’t be proud or believe in yourself how do you expect others to.

The music video for your new song “Victims” is very confronting especially for those that have gone through similar experiences that is portrayed in this video. Who came up with the concept for the video? That again was Dean. He kind of had this song planned from the beginning and one thing I have learnt is never to get in the way of a man’s creative juices haha. I imagine it took a while to shoot the video, how was that experience for you? It was about half a day for just the band stuff but the director Adrian made it heaps of fun. What is your favourite part of the video? The second chorus slomo scream and also the gay guy’s dad. They nailed their roles!

“We should all be open to other’s morals and values and welcome them instead of casting a vicious gaze.”

am just so happy that people listen to our music and feel a sense of freedom from I say that you should be extremely proud what may be weighing them down. Also of how this video and song have turned they are all the most loving and most out, how does it feel to get so much interesting people I have ever met. positive feedback from your fans? It is amazing! Every morning I wake up I Thanks Ryan! Best of luck!

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my echo By Jen @justjenrees

I saw this band My Echo at the Jimmy Eat World Melbourne gig. I really enjoyed their set, they had such stage presence and engaged the crowd. You can check them out on their Facebook page here. I saw you guys at the Melbourne Jimmy Eat World gig and loved your set. You had great stage presence and connected with the crowd. Being your hometown was the sold out show in Melbourne the best show for you? There was definitely something special about playing a sold out show at The Forum in your hometown. It is such an amazing venue and being able to share the stage with one of our favourite bands was just mind blowing! That said every city was amazing and unique and fantastic in its own way. We hadn’t been to Perth in ages and honestly didn’t expect much as the opening act but the crowd was incredible and so warming. We have always had a great time in Adelaide and Sydney was just the perfect send off for the tour. Did you tour with Jimmy Eat World for all their tour dates? We actually shared the opening spot with our good friends The Sinking Teeth. Each band played 4 shows. If you don’t

know those guys do yourself a favour and check them out! Is there any stories that you can tell us that will make us laugh? We drove 2 hours in the wrong direction before our Sydney show. We were listening to The 12th Man and completely lost focus. It wasn’t until we saw Brisbane on the road signs that we realised something was wrong… Did you learn a lot from working with them? We just had to look at the way they composed themselves at each show. They are such a professional and focused band and that really pushed us to be better each show. It is by no means easy to play well when you know that one of the greatest live bands in the world is coming out straight after you to show people how it is really supposed to be done haha. Have you made a lot of new fans though out this tour? Like me! The response we have received has been truly amazing. We feel so honoured to have been given this opportunity and thank everyone who came out early to watch us. We love touring above all else and you guys make it that way.

What is the best way that fans can connect with you? You can obviously get at us via social media (facebook, instagram etc) but if you see us playing in your area simply come down and say hello. Let’s grab a drink and have a yarn! I have been reading your facebook page and some of your tweets………. What is the story about someone losing their licence on the way to your Newcastle show? Haha this was just one of those really unlucky moments. We had stayed the night in Gundagai on the way to Sydney to break up the drive. One of the guys took first driving shift in the morning. He hadn’t been driving for more than 5 minutes and unfortunately got pulled over. It wasn’t reckless or anything, just

“It‘s not easy to play well when you know that one of the greatest live bands in the world is coming out straight after you.” very unlucky and unfortunate. Did you actually make it to the show? We did! How does your writing typically go? Is it a whole band approach? All of us put in on the writing process. We find that when it’s a team effort we come out with the best results. It might start

my echo Interview from a simple guitar line or someone might have several parts to work with.

We are taking a little time off over the holiday period to write some new material. There are a couple of shows spotted here and there which you can keep track of via our facebook page.

I noticed that you all sang, even the drummer, that is pretty unique, does he ever doing any lead singing or just back up? Anything else that you would like Its just back ups for 3 of us. Brenton is our vocalist and the one with all the talent to tell our readers? Thanks for all the support and haha. come say hi at a show!! Your song ‘Do or Die’ has an unique Thanks guys, great to interview music video, who came up with the you and I wish you well for your idea? That kid is so cute! future. I really enjoyed your set, The video was written and directed by it was a great night. Brenton’s sister Kelly. She’s an amazing talent and the video came out above and beyond what we expected. Which song has had the most success for you? Do or Die or a track off our latest EP called Lonesome City. Have you guys done tours overseas? Pretty sure I read that you had, which bands did you tour with? Not My Echo although we are looking in to it. A couple of the boys have toured overseas in other bands. Where can fans grab one of your awesome tees and other merch? You can grab our merch via our bigcartel page or by visiting http://myecho.tentotworecords.com You play all over the state and country what is next for My Echo? You guys don’t seem to be guys that rest a lot! 

Photos By Inside Edge Photography

 Simple Plan NEWS 

Brendan Kelly’s interview with Jeff On Novemb er 4th Brend an Kelly, a Montre al Ga zette rep orter, interviewe d the guitari st Jeff Stinco ab out hi s side proje cts and al so b and , Simple Pl an , at Lorb e er. You can re ad hi s whole article here and on th at link you can al so find a two minutes lon g vide o from the interview. Written by Mária @MariamAstronaut Kelly asked Stinco why is he so interested in doing projects outside of being a member of Simple Plan. His answer was: “I’ve always been passionate about many things. [...] And it’s just about following my passions and just doing things that I really, really wanted to do for a long time.“ When asked about the fact, that the other members of Simple Plan appeared on opening of his new restaurant called Laurea, he said: “I was proud of that. I guess that’s some kind of an endorsement on their part.“ Stinco also said that the others don’t really understand why is working during downtime. Kelly then writes in the article about all of Jeff’s project in chronological order. You can also check all of his side projects on simpleplan.cz if you want to keep track :) In the interview, Jeff mentioned the new album of Simple Plan that’s currently in the writting process. He said: “We’re slow writers. A lot of people in the music industry have a crew of writers writing when they’re on the road so when they get back home, they record an album and get back on the road. We have to stop because we’re not really good at focusing at two things at the same time.“ The reporter also writes, that Simple Plan wants to get to studio for recording in January 2015.

some other news about jeff Written by Mária @MariamAstronaut In October the lead guitarist of Simple Plan appeared on the program “Culture Club“ on ICI Radio-Canada. He spoke there about band’s success. Here’s a quote of his: “I always thought it was very Quebecois to be afraid of success, but I realize now working around the world that it is a very delicate topic to many people. The more Simple Plan have been successful, the more it has attracted the critics. I do not know the recipe for success: it comes and goes, it is very unstable and we know that anything can stop overnight.“ It was also announced that beers from the micro-brewery Stinco co-owns (alongside with Éric LeFrançois and Martin Proulx) – West Shefford – will be available in selected grocery stores. Until now they were available only in various establishments throughout Canada. This is possible thanks to partnership with Brasseurs du Nord. Here’s a photo from the photoshoot that accompanied the news: I don’t speak French, but I guess this is how will the beers look in the grocery stores. You can check it out here. On November 3rd Jeff shared a picture on Twitter – it was a very old school photo from high school prom! His comment: ”My not little one says I looked like a girl... I prefer to think that I had really bad fashion sense.”

 Simple Plan NEWS 

what’s new with pierre? Still in the proccess of writing the new cd, Pierre moved to a studio at Vancouver, and later, with Chuck, to his “home studio”, where they can write the new songs. Check out this photo Chuck posted in his Instagram of Pierre working on some song: On the 12th of October, Pierre and Chuck performed, with a group of musicians other than their bandmates and back-vocalists, at the Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, California, USA. Besides them, other artists like Tim Allen and Eagels also played at this event. Check out a picture: Also about the new album, there’s a video of Pierre performing an acoustic version of “Lucky One” in his own studio, check out here: Chuck and Pierre have been together a lot, besides that event at California, they were both at the launch event of the company Art Angels, cofounded by Chuck’s wife. Check out some photos:

Pierre have been updating his Instagram a lot, so check out some photos of his daughterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Lennon, 3 years old birthday: He also posted a photo of him and his wife ready for the Halloween party.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been great times to write new songs for the 5th album. In the company of masters like John Feldmann, Simon Wilcox and Nicholas Furlong, more known as RAS. Check the photos:

Pierre teaching his girls the guitar! Super cute!

 Simple Plan NEWS 

what have the guys been up to lately? Wh at h ave Simple Pl an b e en up to l ately? Here’s a short summ ery with the help of simplepl an .cz Written by Sophie

Chuck:

Pierre Instagram as well as tweeted about being with Chuck at his songwriting studio in his backyard. Adam Elmakias – photographer – did a photo session with the two gentlemen and ended up with these lovely picture:

On October 7th, Pierre and Chuck both attended the launch event for a brand new LA-based art company Art Angels which has been co-founded by Chuck’s wife Jacquelin and her business partner Kat Emery. Chuck posted a picture on Instagram of Pierre working on the fifth album:

Chuck and Pierre performed alongside musicians and back up vocalists on Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, CA in the United States on October 11th. The other members where all home in Canada at the time of the event. Simple Plan are working hard on their fifth studio album coming up. Front man and songwriter Josh Ramsey from Marianas Trench are working alongside the guys in Vancover. This picture was posted of the three handsome guys:

Jeff:

He was on the radio talking about Simple Plan’s success and in one quote he mentions: “The more Simple Plan have been successful, the more it has attracted the critics. I do not know the recipe for success: it comes and goes, it is very unstable and we know that anything can stop overnight.”

Jeff attended a 5-à-7 event (basically a “happy hour” type of event in Montreal) in his restaurant Laurea last month.

David:

was last online on Twitter on October 3rd when he posted a picture of a deer. Isn’t he just adorable? Wondering what he’s up to…

Seb:

Announced that he’s expecting his first child, a daughter, with wife Laurence.

Yesterday, Sebastien Lefebvre attended the taping of the TVA program called “Accès Illimité”, alongside the Canadian singer Andee Leclerc, whose new album Sebastien helped to record. Check out a picture from the taping, which the show’s host Anouk Meunier posted on Twitter:

divides

bio Divides (UK) are a 5 piece rock band based in Glasgow - made up of former members of well-received Scottish bands featuring, vocalist Tasha Cowie, drummer David Maxwell, guitarist David Lennon, Colin Horn and bassist Andy Cook. The band played their debut show in April at Oran Mor, after being hand picked by Glasgow band Vukovi to open their biggest headline show to date. Shortly before, the band released their debut single and video for “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost” Although these were not official releases and self released solely on Youtube and digital stores with no PR campaign or agent in place, the

band gained media attention from BBC Radio 1, XFM, BBC Radio 1 Scotland and Amazing Radio. The band were also chosen by XFM as their Breakout act on XFM Scotland Drivetime. It has been a busy six months and the band are currently working hard on building up a strong local following and getting their debut EP released before the end of the year.

website facebook youtube soundcloud

Listen to Divides ‘Spiders’ here 48

Photos by Andy Mills

thi s m onth ’ s

Fresh Fruit Interview by Jen @justjenrees

divides

Hi Guys, thanks for taking the time out of your busy EP schedule to answer some questions. I found you guys when I was adding pledges to Zebrahead’s DVD Pledge. Your band came up in the section that I might like and I don’t usually but I clicked on your song ‘Not all those who Wander are Lost’ music video and I loved it.

We had basically been in previous bands and most of us had met searching online looking for new projects. It was a few months later that Tasha joined to complete the line up. We had a good idea of what sound and direction we wanted to go, and didn’t waste much time getting into the rehearsal studio.

You are a relatively new band, however you were all from former bands, what‘s the story how you came together to form Divides?

Vukovi picked you to open for their headline show in Glasgow, how did they find you to pick you?

As far as we know, they had checked out our debut single “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost” and basically got in touch asking if we would open the show! Have they been an inspiration for you? Definitely, a lot of the band are big fans of what they do.

“We couldn’t believe how much attention the single got”

Thinking about the actual show what was the biggest highlight for you? The highlight was probably the crowd participation during our slowest song “Polar Opposites” as the whole crowd took out their phones and lit up the room for us. It was awesome!

then we started getting pledges from people all over the world. It is hard to comprehend that someone so far away, actually loves the music your producing.

What is your writing process? It is a whole band process or more of an individual thing? The writing process is actually pretty mixed. Tasha writes the lyrics and Colin and David write the chords. However we have recently started writing songs from scratch together at the same practices.

When you rehearse is it the typical pop punk pizza and in the garage type of rehearsal? Unfortunately we do not have a garage, so we have to pay to rehearse in Glasgow, but pizza is often involved in the process ha.

How did you get involved with Pledge Music? It is a great way to get music out there as bands starting out need an extra hand You released your song “Not All Those Who financially! We had heard of Pledge and Kickstart beWander Are Lost” but it was only released fore, so with no financial backing we thought on Youtube and Digital style, how overwhelming was it that it got so much media there would be nothing to lose. We think it is a great idea in helping bands get their music attention such as BBC Radio 1, XFM, BBC out there that normally would not be able to. Radio 1 Scotland and Amazing Radio? We could not believe how much attention What local gigs have you done lately? Do the single got, considering it was the very you play the local Pub scene? first thing we had ever released as a band. Yeah we have mainly just been playing supWe basically already had an idea who to contact and it just so happened a lot of peo- port gigs in Glasgow, however we did have ple got behind the song and helped support the one Edinburgh show that gave us a taste of what it is like to play in a different city. it.

Your Pledge Music campaign was a huge success! Details can be found here. You, at the time I am writing this have achieved 108% of your goal with still 32 days to go. This is not just your family and friends pledging! I had never heard of you and it is rare for me to Pledge on a first EP. How stoked are you with the response that you have had so far? Again the support has been unbelievable. A lot were family and friends to start with but

What is next for Divides? We have our first and biggest headline show, January 3rd at King Tuts as part of the New Year Revolution Festival that we are all super excited for. We will be releasing our debut EP! With a single and video in the near future. With a tour to follow next year. Tasha, Dave, Andy, Colin, David. Thanks Guys! I wish you well for the release of your EP and look forward to take a listen!

mayday parade [7] tonight alive [9]

major league [7] & pvris [8] Vogue Theatre, Vancouver November 3, 2014 Written by Freda Lewko Photos by Roman Zugarazo

he night started off with a band from Boston called PVRIS (pronounced “Paris”, in case you couldn’t figure it out). Playing alt-pop with a hint of moody electronic parts, they’re a refreshing young band with great chemistry in their stage presence. Frontwoman Lynn Gunn has a unique voice, raspy but delicate, which compliments their rugged form of playing. Fun, quirky and confident, PVRIS was successful in preparing the audience for an energy-filled night.

Hailing from New Jersey, up next was Major League whom, at first impression, were in danger of being just another pop punk band. With interchanging classic pop punk whiney vocals, they could easily be likened to Man Overboard. But in good time they were proving that wrong with original stand out songs, while also winning the crowd’s hearts with their sincere, relatable lyrics and friendly stage banter. On a more honest and serious note, frontman Brian Joyce encouraged musically passionate fans to start bands by guaranteeing “you have a least 4 people who believe in you.” Welcomed to the stage with as much enthusiasm a crowd would have for a headlining band, Aussies Tonight Alive began with “The Edge”, a song that showcases Jenna McDougall’s vocals in a graceful manner with incredible control. Throughout

their entire set, it’s obvious that Tonight Alive are a very accomplished band as there there were no dull vibes whatsoever from beginning to end of their time on stage. Jenna is exceedingly carefree and confident as a performer, beating her chest and flailing her limbs every which way, while Whakaio is equally entertaining, plays his guitar whilst running in circles and crawling on his knees. Last but not least come tonight’s headliners Mayday Parade. Opening with “Jersey” and diving straight into “Kids In Love”, the theatre’s energy level is at it’s highest. After a chilled out “Hold Onto Me” and “Terrible Things”, they pick up the speed with “Ghosts” and then slow back down into the most heart-melting moments of the night: the crowd sings along to “Miserable at Best” which Derek plays on his upright piano accompanied with vocals from drummer Jake in the background. Hearing the audience sing is enough to give you chills, and nearly every girl sways back and forth while recording the moment with their mobile devices. Before jumping back in full-force with “Black Cat”, Derek shares a few words about how Mayday Parade was started for fun for themselves but soon enough shifted their focus on their fans: “[Mayday Parade] could have been short-lived, but it’s been 9 years now [...] we keep coming back and doing this for you.” Though Tonight Alive may have won tonight in the category of “most energetic and entertaining band to watch”, clearly everyone was here tongiht to experience a special moment with Mayday Parade, the heroes of heartfelt pop-punk.

m onth in review... As you would expect January was a quiet month for Simple Plan. 2013 had been a busy year touring and writing and working with the Simple Plan Foundation.

Chuck made a hilarious New Resolution to welcome the N was not to do anymore vers Paradise. He also wanted to

Pierre spent the New Years enjoying some Vintage bubbles and some more work on his tattoo.

Seb spent his to tell the one searching for funny tweets

Jeff had a busy first few days in January, even though it was a bit cold! -20!

He used the snow fo some fun on the slo

Seb and Pat where among other guests to attend the opening night of Jeffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Japanese restaurant Shiji in Montreal.

Pierre may have been back in the studio, but he was not recording. Instead he was there to get some more work done on his leg sleeve by tattoo artist Aaron Della Vedova.

Just days after op restaurant, Jeff ha projects in Little B a bar called Rufus the owner of a for was established in

anuary Written by Jen @justjenrees and Leeann @adnaxar

w Years New Year and that sions of Summer o play more golf

s New Years making sure he told us es we love that we love them and r music for future Eps of MOTH. His amused us throughout January.

or opes!

Seb finally got his new guitar in the shape of a custom made sea foam green Mayfield guitar from Framus. While Canada froze, Chuck took some time out in a warmer climate to have a round of golf with photographer and friend Chapman Baehler.

pening his new Japanese as opened another one of his side Burgundy, Montreal. This time itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s s Rockhead which is named after rmer famous nightclub/bar that n Montreal in 1928.

That was Chuckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promise to fans before posting a look back at the year that was.

Not sure how David spent his New Year as twitter is not his thing!

A Japanese version of the SP EP was released on January 29th, and featured 2 additional tracks, Live versions of the song Astronaut and Loser Of The Year reordered as part of the Melbourne concert which was recently uploaded to YouTube.

m onth in review...

On February 7th –Dan Aykr in Canada to promote his r and and did this at Jeff’s n Rockhead., before heading new restaurant Shinji.

This month saw SP get back into action after some tome off in January.

February 11th – Seb finally got his hands on his custom Framus guitar. You can check out the great unveiling right here.

Jeff is also a romantic at heart.

Feb Coa the onl mu

February 20th – Pierre visited artist Aaron Sella Vedova where his leg sleeve was finally completed.

February 20th –The boys started to discuss Album number 5!

ebruary Written by Jen @justjenrees

royd was back range of Vodka, new bar, the Rufus g next door to Jeff’s

February 7th – Seb and Jeff were among 200 attendees at the Peace Grantmakers Network’s ‘Social Emotional Learning & Bullying Prevention symposium with the aim being to find solutions to eliminate bullying.

February 12thToday marks the 6th anniversary of Simple Plan Self Titled.

Feb 14th, Chuck tells fans that we are all his Valentine!

bruary 19th – Today Sebastein was a guest as part of the alition Music Enterpreneur program which helps artists develop eir brand and career in the music industry where he talked not ly about being a member of Simple Plan, but also his other usical ventures. February 23rd – In recognition of Canada’s gold medal win in this year’s Winter Olympics ice hockey final, Chuck took to Instagram posing in his Canadian hockey jersey.

Fans got tweeting in February to get the Rest of Us Video trending in Brazil.

m onth in review... March 6th - We have all been awaiting news on the upcoming 5th album, and today Chuck shared a little of the process by posting a pic of Pierre hard at work in their home studio.

March 10th - Today honorary 6th member of Simple Plan Patrick Langlois was joined by his wife Marie-Eve, as well as Simple Plan’s graphic designer Fred Jerome and former drum/ guitar tech Patrick Ouime (aka Frenchie) on Canada’s version of the Family Feud, La Guerre Des Clans where they managed to win $2000 for the Simple Plan Foundation. You can check out a clip Pat from the show posted on Pat’s instagram right here. March 18th – More pics from work on the 5th album were released today. This time we can see Pierre belting out some demo tracks at Chuck’s studio.

March 24th – Last year David’s hometown of Matane started a project called “Chaine de forces” (A Chain of Strength). The initiative uses a parchment inscribed with words of encouragement and strength and is passed from person to person, with each person adding their own advice and encouragement. This year David was asked to start the chain, before passing the parchment on. You can see a video message of David starting the chain right here. As the video is in French, you can check out Simpleplan.cz for a translation.

Marc the 1 relea No P Just dow this

March 2 marked t annivers the relea Simple P Package We can o we can g depth lo scenes w one day

march Written by Leeann @adnaxar

Chuck showed his appreciation to SP fans and the world rocked for him during the earth quake in LA.

March 11th – Pierre shared a pic of Chuck’s home studio which looks pretty cool!

ch 19th – Today marks 12th anniversary of the ase of SP’s first album, Pads, No Helmets.... t Balls. Let’s take a trip wn memory lane with little clip.

24th - Today the 11th sary since ase of the Plan DVD, a Big e Just For You. only hope that get another in ook behind the with the guys soon.

March 12th – Fans attending this year’s 9th Amnesia Rockfest to be held in Montebello QC on June 20th will not only have the luxury of witnessing bands such as Blink 182 and Motley Crue to name but a few, but for one night only, they will witness something truly monumental, when Chuck and Pierre hit the stage, not as part of Simple Plan, but as one of the original members of the band Reset.

March 25th – On May 23rd, the first “Million Meals Movement” will be held at Sony Centre for the performing arts in Toronto Canada. Canadian charity ONEXONE is coming together with the Simple Plan Foundation in the hopes of kick starting an initiative to eventually packing one million meals for children across North America. As part of this event, the guys from Simple Plan will be part of the line up supporting this event.

m onth in review... OMG, SP ARE GOING TO PLAY IN SPACE??? This was the news fans woke to at the start of the month. But alas, it was nothing more than a little April Fools Day prank. It felt exotic to be at home after what was quite a week. So Jeff posted a song, just because. Leaving for Ottowa, Jeff remembered the songs and might have been a little unprofessional on the red carpet. It was time for the first bike ride of the season and then to start work on a new project. Time to start brain storming the name of the new place. With Spring on its way, Jeff said goodbye to Winter, and wished all the sugar monsters a Happy Easter. Boarding a private jet for Chisasibi, Jeff was thinking, “Private jet...Para bailar la bamba #betternotbebadluck”. Where upon landing, it may have -20, but Jeff was still feeling grateful to be playing music with his best friends.

April 1st – Jeff and Seb featured in a short interview on Breakfast Television Montreal where they talked about the Million Meals Movement event which will be held in May. You can check out the clip, featuring a very hairy Jeff right here. April 8th – The guys were in Ottawa today rehearsing the songs they would be performing as part of tomorrows National We Day. This will be there first time back on stage since the Australian Warped tour last December.

April 21st – American singer and songwriter Alez Dezen has join the growing list of names of those assisting work on the upcoming 5th album. Dezen who is lead singer of the band The Damnwells has in the past worked with names such as Dave Grohl, Jason Derulo and Cody Simpson, can now add Simple Plan to his resumae. We now know that the guys have so far got around 30 songs at varying stages written for the album.

April 9t Nation and no you we world, a part o of a liv the eve mentio and vid Seb.

april

Written by Leeann @adnaxar

April 1st – What a way to kick off the month! With another pic of the guys working on the 5th album. In this pic, you can see Pierre working with one half of the electropop duo 3OH!3’s Nathaniel Motte. April 6th – Having recently released a new EP featuring a song co-written with Pierre and Chuck, Janick Thibault, lead singer of the Canadian band Amasic today tweeted he had recently written a song with another member of SP, Seb.

April 4th – Announced today, there will soon be another piece of merch for fan’s to add to their collections, this time in the form of a limited edition T-shirt. The shirt was released on the 8th, and once it’s gone, it’s GONE, never to be released again.

th – It’s nal We Day, o matter where ere in the you could be of it courtesy ve stream of ent. Not to on some pics ds posted by

April 9th – If you couldn’t be there in person, or due to time zones were unable to tune in for the live cross of today’s performance, you can check it out right here. You can see a roundup of the event, as well as interview with the guys from the red carpet here. April 26th – Fans were surprised to learn today that the guys would be holding a secret show at the Job’s Memorial Gardens in Chisasibi QC. Believing the next SP concert would not be until May, it was only after tweets from the guys that fans learnt about this event. The guys later posted a pic of the band before boarding a private jet to Chisasibi.

m onth in review... May 1st – SP start May off some great news that their music is being used for anti bullying campaigns.. The upcoming documentary, “Bullies and Friends” which not only offers positive solutions to bullying, but also recounts the landmark court case of a 14 year old girl’s suicide that was directly linked to bullying will feature Simple Plan’s song “I’m Just A Kid”. The song has been donated to the project as part of the Simple Plan Foundation’s involvement with anti-bullying campaigns.

May 7th – With work on album number 5 well under way, and a bit of a break in there performing calendar, Pierre has taken the opportunity to work on his voice under the supervision of renowned voice coach, Gary Catona who in the past has helped artists such as Seal, Usher, Steve Tyler and Whitney Houston to name but a few. May 16th – Simple Plan hitt the stage alongside Maroon 5, American Authors and Pitbull as part of Salmon Fest on July 5th.

May 23rd – Representing the Simple Plan Foundation, all members were on hand standing alongside volunteers to pack one million meals for people in need, before the guys then hit the stage tonight as part of the Million Meals Movement event in Toronto.

May 18th – After recently obtaining his motorbike licence, Jeff decided to celebrate by hitting the road through the Valley of Fire in Nevada with fellow band mate and bike lover David.

May 25th – When news first broke that Chuck and Pierre would be joining other original band membe as part of the Reset reunion at Amnesia Rockfest in June, many fans had been asking what about Davi Well, wonder no more. It has been confirmed that David will be onstage and for the first time, all thre will be playing Reset songs live together.

ers n id.

may Written by Leeann @adnaxar

May 6th - Chuck and Patrick have made an appearance in Annakik Slayd’s new music video “Rock The Sweater” which supports Montreal’s hockey team, The Montreal Canadiens. You can check it out right here.

May 9th –The SP front man today celebrated his 35th birthday.

May 13th – While Chuck and Pierre continue working on album #5; Sebastien has also been writing songs with US singer Jillian Jensen over Skype.

May 23rd – Seb and Chuck hit the media circuit to promote the Million Meals Movement event that took place in Toronto later today. Their first stop was with BT Toronto morning show before appearing on CP24 Breakfast. May 26th - The list of co-writers helping out on album #5 continues to grow with Toby Gad again joining Pierre and Chuck in there writing endeavours. May 27th – Man Of The Hour dynamic duo Patrick and Seb hit the shops and thrilled there Instagram followers today with a spot of Tuxedo shopping and mini fashion show. James Bond, eat your heart out.

May 23rd- SP have added another date to their calendar, this time announcing they will be headlining Brampton’s Canada Day Celebrations on July 1st.

May 28th - Sebastien has been confirmed as one of the attendees at the opening of the Dr. Julien Foundation’s “Garage à musique” new premises on June 4th. The new venue will enable more children to join the project which gives young people the opportunity to acquire the tools to achieve personal balance (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, cultural and social) by a collective practice of music.

m onth in review... This month was a huge month for SP! Summer Paradise hit 60 million views on Youtube and their facebook page hit the 10 million mark. Chuck spent time playing sports, watching hockey and interviewing bands on the red carpet at the APMA awards.

June 7th – The opening acts for this year’s Canada day which will headline Simple Plan was announced. Those attending enjoyed music from Kim Mitchell, Andee and Amasic.

Jeff’s twiter account hit the 125,000 follower mark and he celebrated the anniversary of his restaurant Mangiafoco.

Seb kept us entertained with his funny tweets as usual! In fact one of them was if he could go back a minute to stop one of his first pointless tweets from happening.

June 18th – With just two days until the Reset reunion at Amnesia Rockfest, Chuck, David, Pierre and Phil took the opportunity to practice some of their old hits.

June 23rd – This morning Pierre made a guest appearance on his long-time friend Pat’s morning show, Ca Commence Bien where he discussed progress on the new album, the Simple Plan Foundation and the recent Reset reunion show.

June 9th – The o for this year’s Am Rockfest has bee A special of this y will be Pierre, Chu hitting the stage, Simple Plan, but Reset reunion.

June 20th - Fans at this year’s Amnesia special reunion of the original members and Chuck all appearing on stage as pa Songs played during the set included: S in our July Edition. Everyday, Why, Conc Dream and I, Friend, Double Cross, Poll Go Away. You can check out the show

June 25th – A specia the Simple Plan Found winners was held at L restaurant where the t winners were not only fine meal with all the g a little acoustic conce

june

r d

official schedule mnesia en released. year’s event uck and David , but not with as part of the

Written by Leeann @adnaxar and Jen @justjenrees

David was quiet on twitter this month AGAIN!

Pierre decided that he would let us into his life and shared some pics of his family. He also spent time hanging out with a few other special people to him.

June 4th – Seb was on hand today for the reopening of the renovated Garage à musique project organised by the Dr/ Hulien Foundation where he joined other musician’s onstage to celebrate the day.

June 5th – Today Simple Plan’s guitarist Sebastien celebrated his 33rd birthday!

June 11th – Chuck will be a guest judge as part of this year’s Canadian Van’s Warped Tour Battle of the Bands which gives up and coming musicians a chance to join the tour on the Canadian leg of the tour.

a Rockfest were treated to the s of Reset, with David, Pierre art of the band for the first time. See our interview with Phillippe cern, Let Me Go, T.K.O., My lution, United We Stand Tall and June 27th – As in previous years, Omnium for yourself right here. Gervais-Talbot held its charity golf tournament where all profits from the al dinner with day being presented to the Simple Plan dation auction Foundation. All the guys were on hand Le Muscadin for the event with Chuck participating three generous in the golf tournament while the other y treated to a guys played an acoustic set before being guys, but also presented with a cheque for $50,000. ert.

June 21st – This day marked the 3rd anniversary of Get Your Heart On.

June 28th – Tonight saw the members of Simple Plan hitting the stage again for a sold out show, this time at Kirkland Lake.

Photos by Benji

m onth in review... In July 2014 we’ve started to learn more about the Album #5. Thanks to simpleplan.cz, where you can find all the updates, we knew that Pierre and Chuck collaborated with such writers as Ian Kirkpatrick, Sean Douglas, Toby Gad, 3OH3 and more.

We also wrote about events, that happenned in June 2014, for example Reset reunion, Garage Á Musique or Sebastien‘s birthday. It was also the first month for me to write news about Jeff’s business activities. From the September edition I started to write about Jeff regularly, so I hope you like this part of Simple Plan Space :D Also, I was the writer you could get to know in our “Get To Know Our Team“ feature :)

On July 9th w and Patrick pancakes in Chuck Hugh Pancake Bre opened Lorb latest projec

In July‘s edition we’ve also had a feature on simpleplan. cz, the best site about Simple Plan there is. Our “news pages“ would be kinda empty without Dominika and her hard work! The Event, a documentary film about the backstage of organising big events such as music festivals, was premiered on Bell TV. It is narrated by Jeff Stinco.

July was the m post photos of from that time w saying “Awww!“ „Get ready to en get ready to be ‘cause my girls

july Written by Mária,@MariamAstronaut

On July 1st Simple Plan appeared at the celebrations of Canada Day. We could see them there with Andee, that worked with Seb earlier that year, which sang female part of Jet Lag. On the other hand, Sebastien appeared on her concert and played the guitar. A band Amasic, that has some history with SP, such as songwritting and opening for them, was there, too. One of the last Simple Plan’s concert this year was Salmon Fest on July 5th. Chuck attended the Alternative Press Music Awards as a special guest and he interviewed bands for Idobi Radio (of which, as we learnt, he’s apparently a 1/5 owner). There are some awesome photos from that night!

we could see Jeff Langlois make n Montreal at the hes‘ Charitable eakfast. Jeff also beer – one of his cts.

In magazine we’ve had an exclusive interview with Ball Park Music, accompanied with a factfile, review of an album and review of a concert. There was also a factfile and review of an album of a band called After The Curfew.

month when Pierre decided to his family on Instagram, and we’re constantly amazed and “ because even when he wrote nter my life. The real me. And bombarded with cuteness s are cute as hell.“ We agree!

m onth in review... At the beginning of August, Chuck, David and Jeff appeared at the” Osheaga Festival, Montreal’s most popular summer festival. It took place from August 1st to 3rd and many artists like Lorde and Arctic Monkeys performed at this event. Jeff was also there to work on the TV Documentary “The Event”.

On August 6th, Simple Plan played at a Golf Tournament organized by the Simple Plan Foundation. Watch Astronaut here.

This Summer, celebrities decided to do the “Ice Buc Challenge” to support SLA Simple Plan also made it a first was Chuck that nomin the other guys from Simple

Simple Plan teamed up with Kiehl’s (Cosmetic brand) to raise money for the Simple Plan Foundation. The band will perform a special show, sponsored by Kiehl’s, in Toronto on September, 19th. Everyone that wants to watch this show live streamed has to donate 1$ for the Foundation.

august Written by Sonia @Give_Me_Artpop

On August 5th, the guys from Simple Plan and Patrick Langlois attended the opening of Jeff’s reastaurant, “Laurea”.

cket A. and the nated e Plan.

The second was Seb, that nominated… Every Astronaut!

Even the other guys from the band did the IBC. “carolineduguay: @kiehlscanada did the #alsicebucketchallenge with @simpleplan” http://instagram.com/p/ sLr1ZeLjFN/

On August, 26th Jeff and Seb appeared on Breakfast Television Montreal to talk about the fifth album and the foundation.

At the end of August, Chuck posted a photo of Pierre laying some vocals on one of the demos for the upcoming album

m onth in review...

sep

At the beginning of September, Je sent us a tweet where he describe new song wrote by Chuck and Pie for the upcoming album.

He also was at the official opening of Accords Bistro in Montreal.

On September 19th, Simple Plan performed at The Hoxton in Toronto at the special Kiehlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rocks For Kids acoustic concert. The show was streamed live and by watching it, fans helped to raise money for the Simple Plan Foundation.

O a A S t w

eptember Written by Sonia @Give_Me_Artpop

On September, 9th, David attended the premier of the movie “MOMMY” in Montréal, Canada.

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Pierre and Chuck also met the guys of “5 Seconds Of Summer” to collaborate together.

On September 16th, MTV announced the official list of the nominees for theMTV Europe Music Awards 2014 and Simple Plan were nominated for the “Best World Stage” performance for their appearance in Monterrey. Unfortunately, Enrique Iglesias won this Award.

On September 27th, Chuck Comeau and Pierre Bouvier met up with an Australian pop-rock band called Little Sea and had a song writing session together. You can see our interview with them in our October Edition.

m onth in review... As we already know, October is the Month that we celebrate the Anniversary) of “Still Not Getting Any”, but this year we have a bigger reason to celebrate, because the album enters its tenth year of release! Yes, 10 years since the release of this awesome CD! To be more specific, on October 26th 2004, the world was receiving these great songs to their ears. Great hits like “Welcome to My Life” and “Shut Up” are part of this album. It fits perfectly in every situation, whether it’s just “Me Against The World” or even when we simply want to “Jump”! Even though that’s not true, this album make us feel like we live in a “Perfect World”, where “Crazy” people just “Thank You” for being who you are, and “Promise” that “Everytime” they’ll feel “Untitled”, they’ll remember we’re all “One” that share the same love for the same band. Happy 10th Anniversary, you think you’re “Still Not Getting Any”, but we know you do!

As known, every year we have the Simple Plan Foundation Chari Event. This year’s will consist in an acoustic show of Simple Pla the Canadian singer Marie-Mai. Regular tickets are available for $60. VIP tickets, that include a p VIP cocktail from 1pm and an exclusive meet&greet, are also ava for $125. Reminding that everything will be donated to the SP Fo You can purchase the tickets at the Corona Theatre website or d their ticket office, starting October 17th, at noon. For more inform click here.

While this, Sébastien brought BREAKING NEWS! His first child was born! Check the tweet:

Also in October, Jeff went Club”, on ICI Radio-Canad success, see what he sai very Quebecois to be afra now working around the w topic to many people. Th successful, the more it ha know the recipe for succe unstable and we know th

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Written by Vitória @dearvitt

After hearing from Adam Elmakias that he liked Simple Plan and didn’t know why he stopped listening to it (check here what he said), some photos he took of Pierre and Chuck were disclosed. Check it! Also, there’s a chance to see Adam’s work in the next cover of the new album!

t to the program “Culture da. In it he talked a little about id: “I always thought it was aid of success, but I realize world that it is a very delicate he more Simple Plan have been as attracted the critics. I do not ess: it comes and goes, it is very hat anything can stop overnight.”

And last, but not less important, Simple Plan along with Kiehl’s released a video thanking for the U$ 40.000 they raised. Check it here.

november 20 By Leeann @adnaxar

Today Seb attended Je Signe Pour L’Engance’s (I Sign For The Children’s) press conference as a way of raising awareness for their current campaign which aims to secure 100000 pledges to help starving children in Canada. Sponsors will donate $1 towards the cause which will run until December 15th.

Music Canada announced today that Simple Plan’s song Summer Paradise had reached 240000 digital sales, earning it triple platinum status in Canada. Congratulations guys.

CBC, Canada’s national radio and TV broadcaster has announced Simple Plan have been nominated for the Heart of Gold Award as part of this year’s CBC Music Awards. The award recognizes artists who “went above and beyond the call of duty this past year and donated time, funds and talent to charitable causes.” Winners will be announced December 9th.

As song writing on album 5 continues, so does the list of those contributing. Today Chuck and Pierre spent the evening with renowned musician/producer/songwriter John Feldmann as well as Canadian singer/songwriter Simon Wilcox.

Another name has lent his time to the next SP album. Today, RAS (Nicholas Furlong) joined Pierre, Chuck and John for a little song writing.

David was one of the celebrities on hand at Steve’s Music Store in Montreal today for Paiste Day which also saw Hedley’s drummer Chris Crippin as well as Burn Halo’s former drummer Sonny Tremblay in attendance.

014 calendar 21

The members of Simple Plan were today presented with the Médailles de la paix (Peace Medal) for their everlasting charitable efforts with the Simple Plan Foundation at an award ceremony at the Hyatt in Montreal by YMCA Quebec. While there, the guys performed a small acoustic set for those in attendance.

Those in attendance at today’s CN Canadiens Alumni Challenge were treated a special six song acoustic set which not only featured the song Time To Say Goodbye, but also the first live performance of The Rest of Us.

23 22

After hitting the stage, it was time for Chuck and Pierre to hit the ice for a match between CN and Montreal Canadien Alumni. The guys took opposing sides for the match which saw Chucks Montreal Canadien Alumni come out as victors. The event saw $50,000 donated to the Simple Plan Foundation.

Boom! Fans at today’s foundation event where shocked and elated when the guys surprised attendees with a new song from the hugely anticipated album number 5, BOOM!! All I can say guys is, “You still make my crazy little heart go BOOM!”

The annual Simple Plan Foundation benefit was held today. The sold out event allowed the band to announce that this year, over $300,000 in donations (the highest amount of donations raised to date) will be used to assist various charitable organisations assisting youth. To date, the Simple Plan Foundation have raised over 1.5 million dollars. Those in attendance were able to take part in the silent auction which featured items such as a bass guitar signed by Mark Hoppus, shoes signed by the members of All Time Low as well as dinner with the guys before being treated to a special acoustic show.

Twitter talk Written by Leeann @adnaxar

David

Just when we got used to having David back, he’s gone and fallen of the Twitter world again :( Oh well, we were still able to see some of the things he was up to this month by way of other web posts.

chuck If Chuck was in charge, he would keep daylight savings time all year round, and drop standard time forever. Who wants to vote for Chuck?? There was lots of work happening on the album this month, but that didn’t stop him taking in the Bleachers show (he loves that band) or stumbling across an all-star pop punk line up at a very special birthday. Back in Montreal, it was freezing, but he loves being there. Especially when you are there to get all dressed up and receive a Peace Medal for their work with the Simple Plan Foundation. Playing hockey with the Montreal Canadiens Alamni was a real honour. The sold out foundation event which raised over $300,000 was perfect in Chuck’s eyes. He hoped we enjoyed #SpAlbum5 preview, he can’t wait to play all the new songs to us. (We can’t wait to hear them either.) But after a whirlwind trip, it was time to set the alarm for a 5am flight, and work on the new SP album.

pierre

A new do had Pierre feeling like a new man, or just a reincarnation of Elvis. Sunday meant family beach day before getting back to work on the new album. His old girl was needing a check-up, and a teeth clean (hey there Delilah) but it’s important to keep your pets healthy. The bathroom in the studio was dope as f@&$, but also cosy and quaint. Having finished up one track, it was time to start a new one. Pierre is really starting to feel good about SPAlbum5. The burette may have been the size of his forearm, but Buddha still told him to eat it. Song writing with John Feldmann might cause Pierre to be up all night, actually, maybe that had more to do with the espresso shakes John made the guys. In Canada to receive the YMCA Peace medal gave Pierre the chance for a family reunion. Having his family at the Simple Plan Foundation event was a real blessing for Pierre, especially as his brother Jay, a cancer survivor was there to share the night with him.

jeff

Whether you agree with Jeff’s not so little one and thought he looked like a girl, or with Jeff questioning his dress sense, the one thing we can all agree on, we loved seeing pics of his #highschoolprom. There are some things Jeff does when he’s not playing guitar (you can check out the interview below, or just check out Jeff) It had been a week, oh wait, no, it was only Tuesday. Jeff was nominated for a Notable award for entrepreneurship, (congratulations Jeff) and with the first snow fall, Montreal was looking gorgeous right now. Jeff and the rest of the SP guys were all class having just received there Peace medal. It’s that time of year, and Jeff just couldn’t hold back any longer, he just had to put up his tree. (which reminds me, I better pull mine out of the shed)

Sébastien on next page...

Twitter Talk continued from jeff...

sébastien

November 1st was a special day for Seb. It was actually the anniversary of one of his #bestdayever. Yes, today he remembered and acknowledged the day he accidently walked into the women’s washroom ;) lol MOTH was back on the air with all new shows this month, season 16, woohoo!! Seb had a middle of the night hunger dilemma, (one that I can really relate to) should he get up and get a muffin? But doing so would mean he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep that night. Maybe the night job he took to help him buy coffee to stay up for his night job means he’s solved his dilemma and can now go for the muffin. Spending the day hanging out with Jeff was nice. When Seb posed a question pertaining to the new album, he soon discovered that most of us are a bit gross. (I think it just shows that most of us are just super keen to hear the new tunes personally, so yes, I’d use your headphones no matter what state they were in). He wanted everyone to behave as he only had a few minutes for #askseb. Seb was loving the sound of drizzle, fo shizzle yeap, for you Seb, #winteriscoming.

Written by Jelena Avrmelovic @jelenaSP96

1. Who said to David “If I wasn’t sick I would kiss you !”? 2. Which Simple Plan’s song was certified triple platinum in Canada? 3. Which two members were in the studio making songs for 5th album with John Feldmann ? 4. Jeff said that he can’t be emo. Why? 5. The hosts of Man Of The Hour are Patrick Langlois and ? 6. Guess the song: V _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7. Who was always “fighting” with Pierre? 8. Who is this? 9. What color are Chuck’s eyes? 10. Which video is this?

Answers 1) Pierre 2) Summer Paradise 3) Chuck and Pierre 4) Because he doesn’t have hair 5) Seb 6) Vacation 7) Chuck 8) It’s David 9) Green 10) I’d Do Anything

International Band News Written by @MaddieBirkett

You’ve probably heard ‘Dear Jane’ by the Madden Brothers being played on the radio multiple times, but now we finally have a video to go with it! Check it out here.

We The Kings have announced a new acoustic album, and have already released a new single from it! Check out ‘Stone Walls’ here.

Yellowcard have released a music video for ‘The Deepest Well’. Check it out here.

Against The Current are becoming quite popular lately and this new single of theirs will only help! ‘Gravity’ is a new single off their upcoming EP. You can check out the video here.

Also, a big congrats to All Time Low for ‘Weightless’ becoming gold in the US!

Aussie Band News

Written by @MaddieBirkett

This month has been hugely, insanely massive for our favourite Aussie bands! Where do I begin? Oh yeah, I’ll start off with some pretty epic news. Masketta Fall, known for going to massive concerts and playing outside on the dumpsters, gaining fans that way, but now they’ll be getting more fans left, right and centre with their new opportunity as they have been signed to Universal Music!! We could not be more proud of such a deserving band! They also released a new single called ‘Summertime Girls’ so be sure to check it out!

Some more exciting news, and a proud moment for Forever Ends Here fans, the guys have been invited to attend the ARIA Awards, red carpet and after party!

It’s not every day you hear a song that’s classified it’s genre as pop-rock/country, but of course Josh Setterfield from Call The Shots has done it and he has done it well! Check out the first single ‘Where I’d Rather Be’ from his upcoming EP ‘Live It Up’. Check out the song here.

Now some even bigger news! You remember For Our Hero? Well they’re back.. Sort of.. The members of the band have reformed in order to create a new band, known as ‘The Native Architects’. To go with this exciting news, they also released a debut single called ‘Animals’. Watch the clip here.

Lastly, The Never Ever are also conquering something great. They’re on tour in Japan! Another proud moment for TNE fans! Remember to check out their new single ‘Cinnamon’ too if you haven’t already. The video can be found here.

Written by Jen @justjenrees

Jen’s Picks of the Month on Pledge Music Ryan Hamilton Former Smile Smile front man and member of People On Vacation, Ryan Hamilton is making his debut solo album! RYAN HAMILTON BIOGRAPHY Growing up in the heart of a music loving state like Texas, it would have been hard for acoustic singer songwriter Ryan Hamilton to avoid being exposed and eventually fall in love with music. Even as young as eight years old, whilst traveling in his Dad’s truck listening to John Cougar Mellencamp, the music bug had already bitten. Once he discovered The Eagles, with their unbelievable musicianship and vocal harmonies, the young Hamilton realized that music was a journey he wanted to take. Initially tasting nationwide success with the indie folk band SMILE SMILE, Hamilton found himself signed to a record label and out on the road supporting several successful album releases. Their track ‘Sad Song’ received a nomination for ‘Best Folk Song in the Los Angeles Independent Music Awards’ and the band was nominated for ‘Best USA Artist’ in the Toronto Independent Music Awards. It was whilst performing at the South by South West Festival in 2010, that Ryan met Jaret Reddick (front man for pop rock band Bowling For Soup). The pair struck up an unlikely friendship, which led to both bands heading out on tour with Reddick and Hamilton deciding to write songs together. The instant chemistry, and mutually similar influences growing up, led to the formation of PEOPLE ON VACATION. The unfortunate demise of SMILE SMILE, gave both Hamilton and Reddick time to focus fully on their new project. PEOPLE ON VACATION was growing at an incredibly fast pace due to them embracing social media, crowd funding and online concerts which allowed the band to be continually in touch with their fan base all over the world. In the short time POV have been together they have already released three full length albums, an EP and toured the UK on several occasions. Outside of POV, Ryan continues to write and record material for a debut solo album and also showcasing his other artistic talent of painting. Already his unique abstract pop culture paintings, or ‘Fake Ads’, have attracted attention from the world famous Thomas Crown Art Gallery who have recently commissioned several of his works.

The Smashing Pumpkins THE SMASHING PUMPKINS are releasing two albums within a year of each other starting with Monuments to an Elegy out December 9, to be followed by Day For Night in 2015. Both albums, according to singer/guitarist Billy Corgan, will be released via Martha’s Music/BMG. Monuments to an Elegy was recorded in Chicago with Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder, who’s been in the band since 2007. Playing drums throughout is Tommy Lee. Monuments to an Elegy was produced by Howard Willing (who first worked with the Pumpkins on the Adore sessions), Corgan and Schroeder. It was mixed by David Bottrill and mastered by Howie Weinberg, who did the same honors for Pumpkins classics in the 90’s. Monuments to an Elegy is “an album within an album,” part of their ongoing work-in-progress Teargarden By Kaleidyscope (with Day For Night as the project’s last work). “Howard lives in the real world, unlike me,” says Corgan. “And so it was his task to be the traffic cop. To point out where the Pumpkins’ sound needed to come forward, and for that I’m appreciative, because it was never the idea of the band as conceived to live in the past, or to become a machine of sentiment. And like all good rock and roll scythes, we’re back to chopping forward.” The Smashing Pumpkins have created one of the most acclaimed bodies of work in musical history having sold more than 30 million albums, and won multiple Grammy Awards in the process. The pivotal group’s many hits defined the alternative music era and continue to resonate on modern rock radio, influencing a whole new generation. In June 2012, the band released the critically acclaimed album Oceania via Martha’s Music/EMI Label Services/ Caroline Distribution. It entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at #4; earned the #1 spot on the Independent Albums Chart; and Rolling Stone hailed it as one of the best albums of the year. Formed in Chicago in 1988, they released Gish, their influential and platinum debut in 1991, which was followed by albums including the nine-time platinum Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and the four-time platinum Siamese Dream, as well as the platinum certified 1998 album Adore which saw a 107-track reissue in 2014. The band’s gold-certified Machina/The Machines of God will be reissued in 2015.

FAN OF THE

MONTH AstronautJAWS Where do you live? Dubuque, Iowa, USA When was the first time you heard about Simple Plan? Probably around 2005. My sister and I grew up loving Scooby- Doo so when the show “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” came out, we went crazy over it. Simple Plan had done the theme song and “I’d Do Anything” was played in one of the episodes. When was your first SP show? Does the Kiehl’s Gives Livestream count? How long have you been an SP fan? Earlier this year...

What do you like the most about SP? Their songs. I love how relatable they are. what’s your favorite posession of simple plan and why? My own little notebook that I have with some SP stuff in it. (It’s still a work in progress) Say what Simple Plan means to you. Simple Plan helps give me something that I can relate. They give a voice to my emotions. (Thank you SP) Describe each member with one word. David- ... Unique

Jeff- best guitarist (that I know!) Pierre- out-going Seb- MOTH Show :) Chuck- brilliant song-writer Favorite simple plan song and why? Addicted- because it’s a song that makes me want to jump (almost as if I were at a concert) and it make me feel a lot better and forget my problems. Do you have any tattoo related to SP? Would you like to have one? I don’t have any tattoos. I plan on sticking with my pen for tattoos. (So, maybe.) What’s your favorite part of A Big Package For You (ABPFY)? When David steals Chuck’s suitcase and gets it wrapped with wrapping. (Best prank I’ve seen so far!) If you could spend a day with SP, what would you do? Show them Dubuque (my town) there’s a lot of beautiful sights, and a lot of history here. Best simple plan memory? I don’t really have one. (Makes room for any that might come!) Have you made friends thanks to simple plan? No, not yet. But I would love to. Favorite SP quote(s)? “I’m not a rock star; I’m just a loser who just got lucky!” - Pierre

Apart from SP, which other bands do you like? All Time Low, Marianas Trench, One Republic, and just about any other band Seb and Patrick play on the Man of the Hour Show If you could say anything to simple plan right now, what would you tell them? “Thank you for saving my life. And please give more info on SP Album #5!” Now pick an SP song that means the most to you and try to explain why. That’s hard. SP has given many songs to me that mean a lot. If I had to pick one I would go with “Welcome to my Life”. The first time I heard that song, it perfectly described a feeling I had before. It’s pretty sad on how deep of an emotional pit when your emotions don’t have a voice. You easily get confused on what to do, and when you try describing it to someone else, it’s impossible. Simple Plan gave a voice to my emotions and it helps to know about someone else who felt like that. (Thank you SP) Last but not least, what is your wish you want to do with Simple Plan? To be on the Man of the Hour Show with everybody. You will get good music and you will be able to have fun getting to know everybody.

Favorite Simple plan video? The Rest of Us. It’s a lot of fun to watch, and to have one of the songs off their EP playing. What song would you like simple plan to cover? For the fun of it, I think they should do Marianas Trench’s “Haven’t Had Enough” and add their own twist to it.

r e it r w t a e r g y r e v Behind e m a e t t r o p p u s a is e r e th with four legs.

Writer in Focus: freda lewko, canada Pet’s name(s): Fluffy and Whiskers Nicknames: None Age: Both 13 Sex: Both female Breed: Long-haired somethingorother How you met: My family first met these two pussy cats at my great aunt and uncle’s place where my grandma had brought them. They were my grandma’s cat’s kittens (only about a year old at the time) and needed a new home. I was about 7 years old then and I remember begging and pleading with my parents to keep them, I just couldn’t part with them! My parents reluctantly gave in and we took them home that day. I was probably the happiest kid on the planet. I even named them myself; the one with the black nose is Fluffy, and the one with the white nose is Whiskers. Very original names, I was exceedingly proud. We actually had another older cat at that time, named Peaches, who did not take kindly to the new family additions so we had to keep Fluffy and Whiskers in the garage. We made the garage kitten-friendly and kept them there for quite some time, slowly letting Peaches become accustomed to the new spunky felines. Most adorable habit: Whether this habit is adorable or perhaps perplexing, they both have a particular love for human feet. Fluffy will come along and rub her cheek on your toe to get some attention and she especially loves the occasional dirty sock to cuddle with. Whiskers expresses the same love

by sleeping with her head burried in someone’s shoe or slipper. But Whiskers outdoes Fluffy in the ‘adorable habit’ category; in addition, she loves to fit her large self into available small boxes to indulge in a snug, peaceful nap. Another one of her habits is to sit on any loose paper she can find; Christmas is no doubt her favourite time of the year, soley because of the mountains of wrapping paper. Most annoying habit: Fluffy sometimes neglects to clean herself after going to the loo, resulting in the worst form of cleaning possible: the bath. Whiskers likes to slow you down in your movement about the house by slipping right in front of your path and slowing her pace. As yet, there is no reasoning behind this behaviour. Weirdest stunt: When they were young and nimble, tears were found in the bathroom wallpaper. Intensive investigations concluded that these were made by the duo’s act of leaping from the toilet to the high windowsill to obtain an alternative view of the birdfeeder hanging in the backyard. Usually found: Anywhere from their usual cat nappers to the previouslyreffered-to shoe or slipper. Favourite food: The liquid gravy parts of their canned cat food. The most embarrassing thing you do to your pet: My younger sister and I love to play dress-up with Whiskers (Fluffy flees the moment her telepathic whiskers sense the human thought of “dress-up”). Whiskers looks especially chic in doll hats.