The plan turned out to be not so simple after all.
The Montreal band known as Simple Plan popped up like a nose pimple in the midst of the emo explosion around ought-one.
With meaty rock riffs under which lurk lyrics as lovey-dovey as any by the Backstreet Boys, Simple Plan became known for getting the word "dick" on the radio, as in, "I'm a dick, I'm a dick, I'm addicted to you."
Then they disappeared.
Mysterious winds from the south brought news of great success on MTV - they were shaping up as the pop-punk Duran Duran of its time - but since most Canadians didn't get MTV, most Canadians didn't care.
Several years later, Simple Plan returns, the prodigal pop-punks, headlining Rexall Place tomorrow night with a sockful of big hits, several of which reveal a maturity and social conscience few expected from a band known mainly for getting the word "dick" on the radio.
Weird.
Now check out this lyric: "Tell me what's wrong with society/When everywhere I look I see/Rich bitches driving big SUVs/While kids are starving in the streets/No one cares/No one likes to share/I guess life's unfair."
That's from the song Crazy, a concentrated jolt of socially conscious power balladry. The band also has a tune titled Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me), a weepy ballad whose rain-soaked video depicts the grim aftermath of a drunk-driving fatality.
In June of this year, Simple Plan donated $1 to Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada for every spin the song got on CHR radio, MuchMusic, MusiquePlus in Quebec and MTV Canada. More than $2,000 was raised.
This year, they played Live 8 in Barrie and a tsunami relief benefit in Thailand.
It looks like the class clowns grew some big hearts on their sleeves.
Drummer Chuck Comeau says, "You can't do the same thing over and over again. I think you also get older. Hey, we wrote the first record when we were like 18, 19, we wrote this record when were like 23 and the next record we'll be like 26. I'm not saying I'm the wisest person around, but your outlook on life becomes a little different. You also travel and you meet people and you leave your little bubble and you look at the world for what it is."
That "bubble" he refers to can be particularly tight when you're an internationally successful rock band on the road. The work is hard, the hours long, the parties tempting.
Since Simple Plan last played Edmonton two years ago, Comeau says they've been to Australia three times, Asia four times, Japan six times, Europe 11 times and through U.S. 10 times. He left out South America, but they've been there, too.
"We don't stop," says the drummer, but stresses they do stop to smell the roses, or the exotic vegetable bazaars, as the case may be.
Comeau continues, "If you travel the world and you're dumb enough to stay on your bus and backstage and don't talk to people, you're a f---ing idiot. Sure, it's busy being on the road, but God, wake up earlier. Talk to people, try to find a way. We do. Everywhere we go, we try to explore and take it all in. We're so f---ing blessed. We're so lucky to do what we do. Our job is to travel the world and do what we love. The least we can do is try to get something out of that and become more interesting people - and that will reflect on our songwriting down the road and reflect what kind of band we are."
Touring Canada behind a new live album, MTV Hard Rock Live, and a DVD set, A Big Package for You - snicker - Simple Plan never held any illusions about being some underground punk band destined to thrash out its days in one dank punk bar after another.
They long ago rejected the term "punk" as real punk fans rejected them. The band still values its "hardcore" fans who have been with them from the beginning, Comeau says - noting with amusement that the Montreal press often mistook them for an American band, so long has it been since they've been back home - but being popular was the plan all along.
"We wanted to be as big as possible, to reach as many people as possible," Comeau says.
"This is what matters to us. We love it, we're passionate about it and we want people to know it. We never said we wanted to play in small clubs for the rest of our lives. It was always about reaching that level and we're proud that we're there."
In the U.S., at any rate. Now for Canada.
"We're turning into a band that our own country is embracing. It's really amazing. We had a lot of cool fans in Canada, but it wasn't the mainstream. Now it feels like everyone is talking about it. It feels good to go home."
