Sum 41 reflects on the ups and downs of their rock music legacy

By Canadian Press on January 29, 2025.

TORONTO — Sum 41’s members have experienced the highs and lows of the music industry over their nearly three-decade career.

And as the band prepares to hang up their instruments, they’re sharing a few surprising memories from their incredible run.

The Ajax, Ont.-founded band plays one final show at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Thursday before finishing it all off at the Juno Awards in March where they’ll be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Before the last hurrah, frontman Deryck Whibley and his band mates pulled out some untold stories from their past.

THEY WERE VIRAL PUNKS BEFORE SOCIAL MEDIA

Sum 41 built its fandom with marketing tactics inspired by late 1990s skateboard videos. In a precursor to social media, they recorded themselves wreaking havoc on their hometown and passed the footage to anyone who would watch.

“We used to have to film ourselves with a camcorder, get it edited by someone, and go make VHS tapes to hand out,” remembered bassist Jason McCaslin, also known as “Cone.”

“On YouTube, you can see thousands of videos of people egging houses now. Back then, it was kind of like, ‘No band has come out with a video where they have their music behind them, causing trouble.'”

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THEIR PARTYING LIFESTYLE WAS FAST AND FURIOUS

As Sum 41’s fame grew, they leaned into their reputation as enfant terribles, indulging in all the accoutrements it afforded.

“We were encouraged to drink and do drugs,” said McCaslin. “That was part of the whole thing — and it just turned bad.”

Added Whibley: “We were young and kind of invincible at that time. Nothing really seemed like it was that dangerous. A little wild; a little outrageous. But look at the times, too. We were in the “Jackass” period. Those guys were much more wild and celebrated than us.”

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THEY ONCE SOUGHT THERAPY

Around the release of their 2011 LP “Screaming Bloody Murder,” the friction within Sum 41 got so bad they agreed to meet with a professional therapist.

“The band was just in shambles,” said McCaslin.

“So the people in the band went, our manager was there too, and then the therapist. I don’t know if it really worked, to be honest. If we had to do it again, I would probably do it completely different.”

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THEY WERE SHAKEN BY WHIBLEY’S HEALTH SCARE

Whibley’s near-fatal 2014 hospitalization for alcoholism sent shock waves through the rest of Sum 41, with some members saying they knew he was at least partly self-medicating for his chronic back pain.

“There’s no upbringing where you have an education on how to deal with something like that, especially with someone you’ve known since you were 13,” said McCaslin.

“We didn’t know how to deal with an alcoholic, (especially one) that was our singer and our songwriter, the guy who drives the whole thing forward.”

He added: “We did try and help him go to rehab. He wasn’t ready. We were all having a good time and it seemed fine. Then you saw this change and it got bad.”

Guitarist Dave Baksh had parted ways with Sum 41 for some time after a falling out, which meant he wasn’t around when the Whibley news broke. He learned of it second-hand.

“I remember my knees getting weak and falling backwards into the wall,” he said.

“It took us eight and a half years to finally call each other and forgive each other for whatever ways we felt. (I thought), was this my last chance to talk to somebody who meant this much to me?”

“We’re lucky to still have him,” Baksh added.

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THEY WERE STUNNED BY SOME OF WHIBLEY’S MEMOIR

In Whibley’s memoir released last year, he made misconduct allegations against Sum 41’s former manager, saying they continued a sexual relationship he felt trapped in due to a power imbalance, and kept it hidden from his band. The manager has denied the allegations, and filed notice of a libel suit in Ontario.

Whibley’s band mates say his allegations shook them.

“I remember reading it and putting the book down and I cried, man,” said Baksh.

“To know that a friend went through moments like that in their life, you empathize with them. What was going through their mind? What could have been done to avoid it? Should I have asked questions?”

Added McCaslin: “He says in the book he did it for the band. And that makes me feel really sad, because he, in his mind, thought he had to keep it going.”

“We’ve let him know how we feel, and how regretful we are,” said Baksh.

“We would have gone to bat for him no matter what, and still would to this day.”

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THEY ARE PRIMED TO INSPIRE A NEW GENERATION

As he looks beyond life in Sum 41, Whibley says he hasn’t played the band’s music for his two young children, aged two and four. And yet, they’ve still heard it.

“They’ve come to learn it mostly through my mom,” he said.

“When we let them stay with my parents for a day or two, they come back and they’re quoting lyrics of mine. I’m like, ‘How do you know that?’ Of course, my mom showed them.'”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2024.

David Friend, The Canadian Press