someone's dark place: 11/15/12

SUM 41

Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario, Canada. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Tom Thacker (lead guitar,backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Steve Jocz (drums).

In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records. The band released their debut album, All Killer, No Filler in 2001. The band achieved mainstream success with their first single from tchart and he album, "Fat Lip", which reached number-one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks remains the band's most successful single to date. All Killer No Filler' was certified platinum in the United States, Canada and in the UK. The band has since released four more studio albums: Does This Look Infected? (2002), Chuck (2004) Underclass Hero (2007) and Screaming Bloody Murder (2011).

The band often performs more than 300 times each year and holds long global tours, most of which last more than a year. They have been nominated for seven Juno Awards and have won twice (Group of the Year) in 2002 and Rock Album of the Year for Chuck in 2005). Sum 41 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the song Blood In My Eyes, however they lost to the Foo Fighters.

Sum 41 was formed by singer-songwriter Deryck Whibley and drummer Steve Jocz, under the name Kaspir after Whibley convinced Jocz to join his band. Jocz was a drummer in another band and Whibley was convinced that "he was the best drummer around". The duo then added Dave Baksh as lead guitarist a year later and after going through several bassists, ended up picking McCaslin to complete their lineup.

The group began as a NOFX cover band named "Kaspir”. They decided to change their name for a Supernova show on September 28, 1996 which happened to be the 41st day of summer.

In 1998, the band recorded a demo tape on Compact Cassette which they sent to record companies in the hope of getting a recording contract. These demo tapes are rare and are the only recordings known that are with the original bassist, Richard Roy.

From 1999 to 2000, the band recorded several new songs. The Introduction to Destruction and later the Cross The T's and Gouge Your I's DVDs both contained the self-recorded footage, which saw them performing a dance to "Makes No Difference" in front of a theater.

Sum 41 released the EP, Half Hour of Power on June 27, 2000. The first single released by the band was "Makes No Difference", which had two different music videos. The first video was put together using the video clips sent to the record label and the second showed the band performing at a house party. The EP was certified gold in Canada. Following the success of the EP, the band began working on their first full-length album.

Sum 41's first full-length album, All Killer, No Filler, was released on May 8, 2001. "Fat Lip", the album's first single, achieved significant chart and commercial success; it topped the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart as well as many other charts around the world. The song remains the band's most successful song to date. After "Fat Lip", two more singles were released from the album: "In Too Deep" and "Motivation". "In Too Deep" peaked at No. 10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, while "Motivation" peaked at No. 24 on the same chart. The album peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and at No. 9 on the Top Canadian Albums chart. While critical reception was mixed, the album was a commercial success, and was certifiedplatinum in the United States, Canada and in the UK.

The success of the album brought the band touring offers with mainstream punk rock bands like Blink 182 and The Offspring. The band spent much of 2001 touring; they played over 300 concerts that year before returning to the studio to record another album. They took the last week of the tour off due to the September 11 terrorist attacks. They later rescheduled the canceled shows.

On November 26, 2002, Sum 41 released their second album, Does This Look Infected?. The special edition came with a DVD, Cross The T's and Gouge Your I's. Whibley said of the album: "We don't want to make another record that sounds like the last record, I hate when bands repeat albums." The album featured a harder and edgier sound, and the lyrics featured a more serious outlook The album peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard 200 chart and at No. 8 on the Top Canadian Albums chart. The album was certified platinum in Canada and gold in the United States, but was not as successful as its predecessor.

The first single released from the album was "Still Waiting", which peaked at No. 7 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The second single, "The Hell Song" peaked at No. 13 on the chart. "The Hell Song"'s music video depicted the band using dolls with their pictures on them and others, such as Ozzy Osbourne and Pamela Anderson. The third single, "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)", had a video released exclusively in Canada and on their website, featuring live shots of the band. The video also appeared on their live DVD, Sake Bombs And Happy Endings (2003), as a bonus feature. The band again commenced on a long tour to promote the album before recording their third studio album.

Sum 41 has been nominated for seven Juno Awards; they won twice. In 2001, they were nominated for "Best New Group" at the Juno awards, but lost to Nickelback. They were nominated for "Best Group" in theJuno Awards of 2002 but again lost to Nickelback. Also in 2002, The album All Killer No Filler was nominated for "Best Album; however, it lost to The Look of Love by Diana Krall. In 2003, Sum 41 won a Juno Award for "Group Of The Year". In 2004, they were nominated again, this time with Does This Look Infected? for "Rock Album of the Year", but they lost to Sam Roberts's We Were Born in a Flame. In 2005, the album Chuck won "Rock Album of the Year"; they were also nominated for "Group of The Year", but lost to Billy Talent. In 2008, their album Underclass Hero was nominated for the Juno Award "Rock Album of the Year"; however, the album lost to Finger Eleven's Them vs. You vs. Me.They also have been nominated for three different Canadian Independent Music Awards. In 2004, they won a Woodie Award for "The Good Woodie (Greatest Social Impact)". They were also nominated for a Kerrang! Award in 2003 for "Best Live Act".On November 30, 2011, Sum 41 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the song Blood In My Eyes, however on February 12, 2012, the Foo Fighters won.