Simple Plan’s homecoming

F rench Canadian rockers Simple Plan have become one of Montreal’s greatest leading musical exports. The rockers performed at the Bell Centre on Saturday night for the second time on their current cross Canada tour.
Drummer Chuck Comeau recalled nearly missing his calling and talked about his role in Simple Plan moments before soundcheck.
It’s hard to believe that Simple Plan nearly didn’t happen, at least not with you on board.
Yes! I was in law school at McGill for about a year, but that didn’t work out. I was just so into music that I couldn’t focus on studying. I knew I had to give music a chance.
Pierre started a new band, Simple Plan, and that very quickly became my core focus.
I wanted to put my all eggs in one basket and just go for it. Now here I am and it turned out alright!

Why did you stop and take that chance?
I didn’t want to turn 45 and look back thinking, “F— I wish I had given it a real shot.” I was going to try Simple Plan for two or three years and if it didn’t work out I would have gone back to school. I had to follow this dream or at least give it a try. I’ve always known that I wanted my life to be about music and entertainment.

How does it feel entertaining your hometown in its largest venue?
I’ve been playing music since I was 13 years old. It is a childhood dream to play our hometown arena. We did it for the first time in 2005, but to come back and do it twice with this tour, we’re really proud.

Are you as equally proud of your side projects?
Though they are side projects, I don’t see them that way. The band doesn’t create the need for me to turn to a side project for a sense relief.
The Simple Plan Foundation is an extension of what the band is about. We wanted to help young people with diseases like cancer or who are going through problems with drugs and depression. We’re just extending our values and helping where we can. It’s the least we can do.
Then we have Role Model Clothing that we do just for fun. It’s just one more way for me to be creative.

You have a lot of creative input when it comes to Simple Plan like writing video scripts, even co-directing. What drives you to maintain that control?
No one knows what a band wants better than its actual members. When it comes to videos for example, people may have great ideas, but it may not be exactly what you envisioned. We love movies and visual arts. It’s another way to be artistic. For me being in a band, all these things go hand in hand. It’s also very important to also have a global vision of how you want to be perceived.

Travelling the globe as often as Simple Plan does, will Montreal always be home?
Maybe not, but Montreal is always going to feel like home. I shape the world in reference to Montreal. Even for time, when I travel I make references to Eastern Time.
We’ve travelled everywhere and I have never found a place like Montreal. This city is always going to be a big part of who we are. There is just something special about coming back.

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