Formed in 1999, Canadian pop-punk outfit Simple Plan consists of the four original members: Pierre Bouvier (vocals), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guitar). Through the 2000s rise and fall of pop-punk popularity and the genre’s recent resurgence, the band has maintained a steady touring schedule while adapting to a changing industry, earning a dedicated fanbase that continues to grow decades after Simple Plan’s formation.
The band members stepped out on the Warped Tour Vans main stage to the roar of the crowd during the coveted 8:49 p.m. timeslot, closing out day one of the festival in Long Beach, CA. A sea of festivalgoers sporting “I’m Just a Kid” tees flooded the stage grounds, spilling into neighboring areas in pursuit of the best view. And they were rewarded with a spectacle. With fire columns, streamer cannons, and a Scooby-Doo dance party, the roughly 60-minute set fired off hit after hit, culminating in a firework finale.
Earlier that day, sitting on a leather couch in the Warped Tour Media Lounge, drummer Chuck Comeau and guitarist Jeff Stinco discussed their favorite Roland and BOSS gear, the key to the band’s longevity, and the thriving pop-punk scene.
The Setup
Could you run through your rig and what you’re using right now?
Chuck Comeau: One thing I’m using is the SPD-SX. It’s amazing! We use it primarily as a playback machine where we have the click track, so it runs through there. We don’t use a lot of tracks, but the little we have is like gang vocals, piano, or whatever that runs through there. It also sends all the time codes to the front of house. So, it’s very versatile and does a lot of things for us. It gives us a chance to avoid relying on laptops that crash all the time. It’s so sturdy. It’s made for touring, and it’s reliable. It never crashes—knock on wood. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but it really literally never does.
Jeff Stinco: We have a backup that we’ve never used.
CC: It’s been so useful, and we basically put our entire setlist on there, and I can skip from track to track. It’s all in order, and we have multiple playlists depending on the length of the set. But yeah, it’s been really useful and great.
You guys are a super energetic band on stage. Does the click help you reign that in, or do you set it a little faster?
CC: I never used a click with my previous band. When we started Simple Plan, we didn’t use one. But around the second record, we got really tired of all the arguments after the show. Like, “You’re speeding up. No, you are slowing down.” And I come from the punk rock scene, where you want to play as fast as possible all the time. I tend to want to speed things up, especially when playing Warped Tour, for example. I want to place stuff like 20 bpms faster.
I was scared of using the click at first, but once I got used to it, it was incredible. It ended all the arguments among the band members. And as a drummer, I want to be so tight and know that you’re in the pocket. When you have a click, there’s never any doubt. When Jeff starts a song, we have the right speed. We’re not fighting each other. It’s made us way tighter as a band, even more than we were before.
JS: It makes it more professional, too. I forgot that we’re running code to the front of house. What we’re using is pretty extensive. We’re really pushing the boundaries of the SPD—controlling lights, cues, and everything. It’s neat, actually.
Again, that could be a computer. But we’ve had really awful issues in the past. We did a showcase in London once with a laptop. It crashed right before the show. It was disgusting, it was awful. We don’t want that. So, this has been a beautiful solution that worked really well for us.
CC: We have all this video content that we work super hard on, and everything is perfectly synced. Now we know that when we play, we’re not messing that up. Everything is together. It jives.
Here’s a little secret: we speed everything up live. We don’t play the actual album speed. We always bump everything up for, I would say, 99% of the songs.
JS: We change keys and tweak little things, too.
CC: We want that live energy. We don’t want it to sound stale and sterile.
JS: We extend parts, we do a lot of little things, you know.
CC: We have the room within the structure to have fun and still be a live band, but we always have that structure as our backbone.
"We made all our fans one at a time, converting them by playing live and showing them what we can do."
What’s New?
Your live show energy is unmatched.
CC: We take a lot of pride in our live shows. That’s what the band was founded on, how we started. We made all our fans one at a time, converting them by playing live and showing them what we can do. And it’s amazing that we’re 25 years in, we’re still playing for people who’ve never seen us before. It’s kinda crazy that we still get the chance to make that first impression on people. That’s why we want to step it up every show.
"For a long time, 'I'm Just a Kid' was just a song in our set. Then social media gave it a whole new life, and it became one of our biggest songs."
Simple Plan recorded the What’s New Scooby-Doo theme song and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from A Whole New Sound. Do you think that’s helping you reach a new generation of listeners?
JS: We feel it’s important to celebrate every chapter of the band’s history. Of course, we’re playing the hits and embracing the songs that got us here, but we’re also looking for new ways to connect with audiences and reach new fans.
The Scooby-Doo connection is a great example. Early in our career, it’s not something we would’ve integrated into our set. But now, it’s a staple, and we celebrate it.
The same goes for “I’m Just a Kid.” For a long time, it was just a song in our set. Then social media gave it a whole new life, and it became one of our biggest songs. It’s amazing to see how something you’ve created can find a completely new audience years later.
We’ve learned that anything we’ve done throughout our career has the potential to come back and connect with people in a new way. That’s why we stay active on social media, create a lot of content, and look for opportunities to collaborate. For us, it’s about honoring our past while continuing to find new ways to engage with fans.
@simpleplan Sorry, Jeff… everyone’s gotta grow up somedayday! 😅😭😉 But don’t worry, you’re still just a kid at heart and we hope you have the best birthday ever! 🎉🎉🎉 We love you and can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight in our hometown at Warped Tour Montreal! 🤘❤️🥳 Everyone join us in wishing Jeff a happy birthday! #imjustakid #birthday #happybirthday #elderemo #growingup ♬ I'm Just a Kid - Simple Plan
It Wasn’t a Phase
When you guys started out, music came out on CDs. Not everyone had every song in their pocket. Have you found that any of your songs have gotten more popular years down the road, thanks to streaming and social media?
JS: “I’m Just a Kid” is the greatest example. The I’m Just a Kid Challenge on TikTok was huge and completely unexpected. It was during the pandemic. We were at home, and it sucked. We couldn’t tour. Our friend Jaret from Bowling for Soup called us and was like, “You guys should be aware that there’s a thing online where your song is being used to throw back to memories.” And it became a massive thing. So that song got bigger like 25 years after the record, through social media and that challenge.
Social media and playlists changed how people find their music. There’s a healthy scene right now of pop punk and all the adjacent genres. And that also contributes. But the Warped Tour is interesting because you need festivals like that for our band and other bands to grow and for younger bands to come around because you need younger bands to keep the scene healthy, relevant, and interesting.
"If you listen to blink-182, Green Day, Good Charlotte, Sum 41—there's a timeless element to it. It has an energy, an honesty, and a vibe that doesn't sound dated."
What do you think is responsible for the resurgence of pop punk recently?
CC: I think it really started on social media during the pandemic. People were at home, probably diving a little bit deeper into their memories. And music also cycles, right? It’s been 20 or 25 years since our first record. People were super into it, then they kind of veered away. Then they want to reconnect with the music of their teenage years, which to me, is still the most special music. That’s when you were the most passionate about music.
So now people are 20, 30, or 35 years old, and they’re thinking, “Oh my God, I want to go back to a simpler time.” This music really fills that void. It reminds them of their first kiss, their biggest breakup, a major fight with their parents, or whatever it may be. Those are core memories. I think that’s a big part of why the music still resonates today.
If you listen to blink-182, Green Day, Good Charlotte, Sum 41—there’s a timeless element to it. It has an energy, an honesty, and a vibe that doesn’t sound dated. It sounds like it could have been made today. It doesn’t sound like anything else that’s on the radio, Spotify, or Apple Music. It sounds different. It’s real, and that’s why people connect with it.
JS: I asked my 15-year-old son, “Why are you listening to grunge and punk rock. Why aren’t you listening to the music of your time?” And he’s like, “Our time sucks. I want to throw back. My friends kind of feel the same way. We want to go back to your era, where it just seemed so much more fun, positive, bright, and interesting.” I think a lot of people feel that way.
Also, there are people who were too young to come to shows back when we were in our early days. They’re now 30-40, and they’re coming to the show for the first time, seeing the band they loved.
And then there are people who are nostalgic for an era they romanticize, but they don’t really know it. They didn’t have the original experience, but now they want their own version.
CC: Exactly! I see that a lot, and I talk to many of our fans who tell me the same thing: The 2000s were so sick, I want to go back.
Access Granted
CC: What’s really special is there’s no barrier anymore. Before, you had to go to the record store and purchase a record you weren’t even sure you’d like. Now, people can be like, “Oh, I love Olivia Rodrigo, and I heard she’s influenced by Paramore or blink. I’m gonna go check them out.” They don’t have to buy the record. They can just go and stream it right away.
JS: When I was listening to Pearl Jam, they said they were influenced by Cream. I had to go buy a Cream record. It was a bit of a gamble. And it was not necessarily always good, you know? Now you have the whole library of amazing music from around the world in your pocket.
CC: You can just be curious, and I think a lot of people are curious about the older music. And it’s right there, just sitting there, the whole discography! In a single day, they can become hardcore fans and know every record. It’s cool.
"BOSS pedals are accessible to the kids. It's not a fancy, crazy, boutique thing. It is a great working tool, and I think that's pretty punk rock."
Punk Rock Pedals
Jeff, what BOSS pedals have you used?
JS: Throughout our records, we’ve always used BOSS pedals. I use the yellow SD-1 Super Overdrive. I use delay and chorus pedals galore. Oh my god, I’m a chorus freak. I’ve always had the TR-2 Tremolo. And I stacked up distortions—they were huge. It’s funny because I have a crazy collection, and I always seem to come back to these boxes. They’re a staple.
The new Waza Craft collection is just incredible. I’ll be honest, I’ve used modded BOSS pedals throughout the years, and the Waza line is sort of like having the best mods built right into the stock version.
And you know what? BOSS pedals are accessible to the kids. It’s not a fancy, crazy, boutique thing. It is a great working tool, and I think that’s pretty punk rock. People can use the same thing I’m using and be creative for a very fair price. Plus, it sounds great right out of the box. That’s pretty cool. That’s important to me.
