They may be 23 years old, but Pierre Bouvier and Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan have a long way to go before they reach adulthood.
Sitting in their room at Manhattan’s Time Hotel while waiting for a photo shoot to begin, the two bandmates confess they still suffer from adolescent insecurity and awkwardness.
“We meet 19-year-old girls, and we feel like we’re younger than them,” says Bouvier, the band’s spiky-haired singer. “I’m like: I’m four years older than you and I feel so dumb.”
Comeau admits he still lives at his parents’ house. “I bring all my laundry back to my mom,” the drummer sighs. “I guess we’re all a little immature.”
That’s understandable: The Montreal-based group formed only about three years ago, inspired by bubblegum-punk bands such as Sum 41 and Blink-182. Now, Simple Plan is sharing the spotlight with them.
The band’s video for “I’d Do Anything,” which features a guest appearance by Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, has become one of MTV’s most-played videos. The band’s debut disc, “No Pads, No Helmets … Just Balls,” has sold about 200,000 copies since its release in March and recently jumped to No. 69 on Billboard’s album chart, up from No. 98 two weeks ago.
The band’s name comes from “A Simple Plan,” a 1998 movie with Billy Bob Thornton in which a get-rich-quick scheme turns into a fatal fiasco. No such luck for Bouvier and Comeau; so far, their Simple Plan has worked beautifully. Maybe that’s because the five members–including Sebastian Lefebvre and Jeff Stinco on guitars, plus bassist David Desrosiers–have been friends since their early teenage years, when they played in, and kicked each other out of, various bands.
“We’ve had all the fights,” says Bouvier. “You have to see the darker side of someone before you can really say that you know them. And I think we’ve all seen each other’s dark sides.”
