Punks take on Pitt

Not only can the guys of Sum 41 make every 16-year-old in a club jump like the floor is a… Not only can the guys of Sum 41 make every 16-year-old in a club jump like the floor is a trampoline, but they also make the most creative fly-swatter you’re ever likely to see.

Sitting in their tour bus outside the Rex Theatre on the South Side last Monday, Sum 41 drummer Steve Jocz and bassist Jason “Cone” McCaslin gripped their creation – a tube insulated with a half-inch layer of duct tape with a plastic stopper at one end and an array of Mardi Gras beads on the other – like it was keeping them alive. And for good reason: The little winged buggers were everywhere.

Luckily, however, Sum 41 didn’t come to Pittsburgh to kill flies – most escaped with their lives. Instead, the pop-punk trio, famous for hits like “Pieces” and “In Too Deep,” came to make the kids at the Rex go wild.

Sum 41, featuring Jocz, McCaslin and Deryck Whibley, famously married to Avril Lavigne, are on tour supporting their latest release, Underclass Hero, an album that harks back to their pop-punk roots. This is a certain shift from 2004’s Chuck, which found the band pumping out heavier, more solemn music that could even be considered – gasp – metal. But, while the new album might not be packing the heat of the band’s biggest hit, “Fat Lip,” it will certainly cement Sum 41’s place among groups like Blink 182 and MXPX as punkers with staying power. Underclass Hero is their fifth album in only seven years and has pushed the band past the 10- years-together mark.

The Pitt News sat down with the notoriously humorous Jocz and McCaslin in their fly-infested bus before a sold-out show with fellow high school favorites Yellowcard to talk music, Avril and groupies. Here’s what they had to say:

The Pitt News: Sum 41 has released albums with both punk and metal leanings. What bands have influenced you in both genres? McCaslin: Early on it was NoFx, Bad Religion, the Misfits and that type of stuff. The harder music is more like Metallica and Iron Maiden. But we listen to everything. Jocz: Honestly, I don’t even listen to punk rock anymore. I’ll listen to anything other than punk. I’ll always love NoFx, but some stuff I just can’t do anymore. I like classical music. I like Brazilian bossa nova. Music that I can come home and cook dinner to with the wife (laughs).

TPN: Underclass Hero sounds a lot more like your earlier pop-punk material. What inspired you to go back to your roots? M: We did our heaviest album with Chuck. Some people would love to hear more like that, but if we got any heavier, we’d be putting out a Slayer album. J: Once you’re in the metal genre you can get stuck there. I like being in the middle so we can play heavy music and softer songs. M: We’ve done metal songs, soft songs, punk songs and straight ahead rock songs. Whatever we come out with now, no one would be surprised.

TPN: Where did the title Underclass Hero come from? J: It’s a play off the John Lennon song “Working Class Hero.” M: The title comes from the fact that Dave (Baksh, guitarist) quit the band last year, and we fired our manager. At the end of the day, it was just the three of us. We felt like we were starting from the bottom. The title reflects that whole underdog feeling.

TPN: Either personally or as a band, what are you most proud of? M: I’ve been with my girlfriend for seven years now, and I’ve stayed faithful the whole time. J: Well, I never had a girlfriend on the road in the beginning, and yes, I fucked a lot of chicks. And yes, I’m proud of that. M: Steve, I’m proud of you, too.

TPN: Sum 41 has been playing together for more than 10 years now. What keeps it exciting? J: We’ve only been successful for seven years; the first three we were hopeless. Really, the money keeps it interesting. No – it’s an interesting life to lead, one of the few jobs where you enjoy it for what it is. We’re pretty lucky to have this going on because we’re pretty much incapable of doing anything else. It’s either this or starve, one or the other.

TPN: When you’re too old to jump around onstage, what’ll you do? M: I’ll be doing this forever. Once the band and fame goes away, I’ll play the bar circuit. I’d play alone for only 20 people. S: Oh no, no way. Once the tour buses go away, Steve-O goes away.

TPN: So who’s got a better tie collection, Deryck or Avril? M: Probably Avril. Derek has two, and he only wears the one that doesn’t have mustard on it. And you know what? I think he lost the clean one.

TPN: Describe your live show in 10 words or less. M: Our live show is