Jason McCaslin - Sum 41 (19/02/2013)
From the first time they hit our airwaves with Fat Lip in 2001, Sum 41 has caught and held the attention of pop-punk music fans all over the world. Ahead of coming down for Soundwave Festival later this week, bassist Jason McCaslin, also fondly referred to as Cone – a nickname he received in high school from Sum 41’s vocalist Deryck Whibley – chats to the 59th Sound about the band’s stint on Soundwave in 2011, where they were forced to cancelling shows, the band’s upcoming appearance, as well as the record they’re hoping to start working on in mid-April.
It’s 6PM on a Friday night, and you’d think a member of one of the world’s favourite pop-punk bands would be preparing for a big night out, rather than still nursing his hangover from the night before when he went out with his wife for Valentine’s Day. However tired and ill he might feel, McCaslin is as enthusiastic as any fan discussing the bands he’s looking forward to seeing on this year’s lineup.
“I think this is the lineup that has the most friends we’ve ever played with in our lives,” he admits, “Billy Talent’s going to be there, The Offspring will be there, The Vandals, Flogging Molly, and then, obviously, we’re big fans of Metallica, and we’ve toured with Blink-182 before so it’ll be good to see them again, and [we’re looking forward to seeing] Slayer and Anthrax. It’s a crazy lineup.”
The true music fan in the bassist comes out when he goes on to list half the lineup as part of who he’s looking forward to seeing, and it’s lucky that the festival is as extensive as it is, otherwise there wouldn’t be enough time for friends to hang out with one another and for bands to reunite after having toured together in the past. Though, no matter how big a fan he is of Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, McCaslin, as well as the other members of Sum 41, are most looking forward to making it up to fans in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, after the band were forced to leave the tour in 2011 when Whibley was hospitalized for pneumonia.
“It’ll be good to finally get back and make up some of the shows that we had to cancel last time,” he states, before detailing the changes in their live shows that we can expect after the few select shows they played in 2011, “This tour will probably have newer songs on it, but there’ll be older songs too. But, it’ll be high energy, it’s fun, [and] we’ll play for forty-five minutes, so it’ll probably just be a lot of singles as well as some new songs. We’ll play a lot of fast songs."
“It’ll be a fast, and high-energy rock show,” which is exactly what every Sum 41 fan and Soundwave punter wants.
While down here, the Canadian rockers have also planned sideshows alongside Billy Talent, where fans can expect a more intimate experience with the band.
“The small [shows] seem to have, not a better vibe, but a different vibe, a more intense vibe because everyone’s so crammed in to one another, and it’s a lot hotter and sweatier,” he explains, “When I play festivals I have a blast playing in front of that many people, but then when we do our own shows they seem to be really fun too.”
Though, with each day drawing closer to Soundwave and affiliated sideshows, it’s hard to admit that we’re also drawing closer to it being the end of Soundwave season, which begs the question: What do the band have planned post-Australia?
“We’re going to tour to mid-April and then it looks like we’re going to take some time off and start writing an album,” he answers, “The process hasn’t even started yet, so there’s not going to be a new album in 2013. It’ll more likely be 2014.”
And if the record shares half the energy McCaslin held throughout the interview, then it will be nothing short of a true, pop-punk experience that will leave a smile on any fan’s face.
Natalie Campbell
It’s 6PM on a Friday night, and you’d think a member of one of the world’s favourite pop-punk bands would be preparing for a big night out, rather than still nursing his hangover from the night before when he went out with his wife for Valentine’s Day. However tired and ill he might feel, McCaslin is as enthusiastic as any fan discussing the bands he’s looking forward to seeing on this year’s lineup.
“I think this is the lineup that has the most friends we’ve ever played with in our lives,” he admits, “Billy Talent’s going to be there, The Offspring will be there, The Vandals, Flogging Molly, and then, obviously, we’re big fans of Metallica, and we’ve toured with Blink-182 before so it’ll be good to see them again, and [we’re looking forward to seeing] Slayer and Anthrax. It’s a crazy lineup.”
The true music fan in the bassist comes out when he goes on to list half the lineup as part of who he’s looking forward to seeing, and it’s lucky that the festival is as extensive as it is, otherwise there wouldn’t be enough time for friends to hang out with one another and for bands to reunite after having toured together in the past. Though, no matter how big a fan he is of Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, McCaslin, as well as the other members of Sum 41, are most looking forward to making it up to fans in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, after the band were forced to leave the tour in 2011 when Whibley was hospitalized for pneumonia.
“It’ll be good to finally get back and make up some of the shows that we had to cancel last time,” he states, before detailing the changes in their live shows that we can expect after the few select shows they played in 2011, “This tour will probably have newer songs on it, but there’ll be older songs too. But, it’ll be high energy, it’s fun, [and] we’ll play for forty-five minutes, so it’ll probably just be a lot of singles as well as some new songs. We’ll play a lot of fast songs."
“It’ll be a fast, and high-energy rock show,” which is exactly what every Sum 41 fan and Soundwave punter wants.
While down here, the Canadian rockers have also planned sideshows alongside Billy Talent, where fans can expect a more intimate experience with the band.
“The small [shows] seem to have, not a better vibe, but a different vibe, a more intense vibe because everyone’s so crammed in to one another, and it’s a lot hotter and sweatier,” he explains, “When I play festivals I have a blast playing in front of that many people, but then when we do our own shows they seem to be really fun too.”
Though, with each day drawing closer to Soundwave and affiliated sideshows, it’s hard to admit that we’re also drawing closer to it being the end of Soundwave season, which begs the question: What do the band have planned post-Australia?
“We’re going to tour to mid-April and then it looks like we’re going to take some time off and start writing an album,” he answers, “The process hasn’t even started yet, so there’s not going to be a new album in 2013. It’ll more likely be 2014.”
And if the record shares half the energy McCaslin held throughout the interview, then it will be nothing short of a true, pop-punk experience that will leave a smile on any fan’s face.
Natalie Campbell