Sum41 Interview

Sum41 Interview During an eventful Australian tour that saw lead singer Deryck hospitalised and gigs cancelled, bass guitarist Jason ‘Cone’ McCaslin had more than enough time to catch up with BEN HARLUM (who had In Too Deep stuck in his head all week) to discuss their new album, Screaming Bloody Murder, which is available on Friday.

Sum41 Interview What’s been happening to the band, everyone is sick!
I know! I think it’s all the travelling. We’ve literally just come from Dublin and we had a hectic time in New York before we made the trip to Europe and then here in Australia. It took us something like twenty-seven hours to get here so I think everyone’s just a little rundown.

How were the Soundwave shows in Sydney and Brisbane?
They were awesome gigs, there’s a very different vibe with Soundwave – almost a Warped Tour feeling with them. It was pretty bad-ass.

Screaming Bloody Murder is the band’s fifth album, have you got the collaboration process down pact?
Yeah, it’s always been the same process with us. Deryck is the main songwriter so he sets out the initial idea. Then we get together and work on a demo, and also work on our individual parts at home. It was great with this album because we went in with the intention of recording an E.P, but soon realised that we had a ton of great material for an album. So we decided not to rush, and record the best quality album we could make. It was nice.

With Deryck as the main songwriter, is he pretty protective with what he wants each song to sound like?
Well, I write songs as well so I understand the attachment you have to each track. You have a vision of what the song should be like, but you need to have an open mind. Deryck’s pretty good but sometimes he’ll bring in a half-written song, and we’ll start playing and it develops from there. He’s pretty open about having our input and making sure it works as a band.

The album is a lot heavier than what we’re used to hearing, has it been fun playing these faster, harder tracks live?
Oh yeah, It’s been quite fun. A lot of our fans have expressed their desire for us to get heavier so we hope that we delivered. Deryck also was going through a tough time with his divorce so the lyrics are a bit darker as well.

You rented out a house to record this album in, that must’ve been a great experience for you?
Yeah, we recorded at this big house which they converted one of these huge rooms into a recording studio. It was fantastic, if you have an idea or get inspired you could go and record at 4am without waking anybody.