Causes and Concerts with Sebastien Lefebvre
Despite the darkened afternoon, complete with grey clouds, thick mists, and the promise of rain, Simple Plan’s rhythm guitarist was smiling from ear-to-ear. Participating in a self-empowerment workshop for 200 Toronto kids, Sebastien played a few tracks off his EP, You Are Here/Vous Êtes Ici. Lucid Forge had the chance to speak with the humble and animated Lefebvre at CBC’s Oh-la-la café to discuss music, fundraising and yes, strangers making out.
Lucid Forge: So, you were in Toronto today doing an empowering workshop, right?
Sebastien Lefebvre: Yeah!
LF: What grades were you speaking to?
SL: You know what, I don’t remember! [Laughs] But it was junior high kids I think and there was a bunch of teachers there and a lot of different speakers. I just got up there to say a few words about the Simple Plan foundation and how we try to help out youth. This particular one this morning was about mental health.
LF: Your foundation has worked with a number of other organizations, right?
SL: Yes, Make a Wish Foundation we have worked with before and a lot of different hospitals, different youth centres…it’s all youth-based. So it’s either social problems, or disease and sickness. We try to promote music as something to do. Instead of getting in trouble, go play some music. Focus your energy on doing something you love.
LF: Is that why you initially decided to start the foundation, because of that?
SL: The foundation started off as – well – after the shows we’d always talk to the crowd and talk to people around the bus or outside and some kids would come up to us and say, ‘Oh you know, I am a lot closer to my dad now because of the song Perfect’ or ‘I feel like Welcome to My Life really describes what I am going through. I feel like that song is about me.’ We started getting letters and emails about how some kids really have it hard – having to find out who their true friends are, and things like that. We just wanted to take it one step further and try to do something really concrete.
Luckily, the position that we were in, we had a lot of very generous friends around us, so we started gathering money. In 2008, we had a big campaign and donated $100,000 to 17 different organizations around Quebec, Canada or around the world. We just got done with our second campaign and we donated, like $170,000. So, everything is looking great and a lot of people benefit from it.
LF: How do you feel when kids are writing to you and saying your music has changed them and helped them?
SL: Well, when they say that, it is extremely flattering ‘cause I remember when I was young, and all the music I listened to that I loved had probably helped me and changed me as well. So, it is sort of special to me to be on the other side of things, to be the changer instead of the changed. [Laughs] But it is a good feeling to know that you can make a difference.
LF: So you performed a couple of songs from your EP today…
SL: Yes, yes!
LF: How was the response? Did they like it?
SL: Yeah, it was kind of funny because I showed up there and they were like ‘Okay, we got Sebastien here… and he is one of the band members of Simple Plan’ and everybody went ‘Oh, really? I didn’t recognize him!’ It’s just a great cause, so it’s easy to be a part of.
LF: Did you perform your first single, I Fall For You?
SL: No, actually my I Fall For You guitar is a different guitar, and it is broken. [Laughs]
LF: I guess that’s another story, right? [Laughs]
SL: Yeah, exactly. So I played Comatose and I played Good Night. It was just for fun – just to show that if you do something that you love, then you’re alright.
LF: For this EP you decided to sign with an indie label because you said it’s like working with a family. Is that true?
SL: It wasn’t a hard choice. It’s with Coalition [Records Inc.] who is the management company for Simple Plan, so it is a lot of people that I know. It’s people that I have known from the beginning. I’m still working with Warner on the projects. So again, everybody knows for the nature of the project, to try to do it big would have been wrong. This is something that I want to do on the side. I don’t want to conquer the world, I don’t want big promotion around it. It’s just for fun.
LF: As far as the music, is there a message? Some albums tell a story so I’m wondering if maybe yours is trying to tell us a story as well?
SL: I think every song tells a story. I am not sure if there is a message per se. If you relate to some of the lyrics, that’s great. I think things I talk about are probably things most people go through.
LF: When you’re writing a song, is there something that inspires you or does it just come to you?
SL: It’s extremely weird. You know, I just grab a guitar and start humming a melody [hums] and then one line usually comes into your mind. It’s usually the line that is going to stick, and usually these songs are about a specific moment.
LF: How long did it take to you complete the EP? SL: Well, some of the songs are three years old. Some have been around for a long time, with many transformations. Some of them are a little bit more recent. I think it took me about a month, well not even, maybe a couple of weeks to record in my studio at home. That was it. I am very focused and I love to work, and when I’m in my bubble I am just having a lot of fun. I am just kind of a nerd that way.
LF: The music video for I Fall For You is really interesting. Where did you guys come up with that concept?
SL: [laughs] That was [Simple Plan drummer] Chuck [Comeau]. He’s just like, ‘How would you feel if you had a video where everybody is making out?’ I just said that sounds cool. Visually, I thought it would look cool and we had a great time doing it. Everything was slow motion and everybody loved being in the video. They were just makin’ out with strangers the whole time. We had a great time.
LF: You recorded this in your home studio where you also broadcast your own radio show, or should I say ‘Podcast’?
SL: It’s me and Patrick [Langlois]. He used to tour with us, and now he works at Music Bliss in Montreal. We have a friend who has an internet radio station who came up to us one day and said ‘Do a show, just once.’ And people actually tuned in. We’ve been doing it for like three years, The Man of the Hour show. We just ramble about whatever, about songs, about bands we like. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do and it is a lot of fun.
LF: You have like 500,000 hits?
SL: We have about 500,000 subscribers…
LF: That’s crazy.
SL: And we have like 15 million downloads so far.
LF: That’s cool. Have you ever thought about going into radio?
SL: Yeah, it is sort of the scheduling. So it is never going to work. Being on tour and having a proper radio show, it’s like, ‘Okay, I am taking two years off, and you can have me when I come back.’ The Man of the Hour is like whenever we have a half an hour, we just sit and talk.
LF: So, when you’re not working – I know you’re writing all the time and performing – but when you’re not doing any of that, what are you doing?
SL: I like video games a lot, and I like going out with my friends a lot. That’s something we don’t get to do a lot, given the traveling we do. So I try to do that a lot, and see my family. I actually go to shows a lot… tomorrow I am going to see Lights. Never seen her live – big fan. It’s going to be cool. She’s a nerd like me. I met her at the Junos. She is very nice, and very pretty.
LF: Do you think you have changed a lot since making your EP, either personally, or as a musician?
SL: Um, you know, I am not sure. I think every experience obviously helps you grow, and obviously I think I have grown, and I think the next CD will be better than this one. I think as a band the next Simple Plan album will be better than the one before. So I think there is always that evolution, and obviously the more you do something the more you get better at it.
Sebastien Lefebvre’s EP is now on shelves. You can check out some of the tracks at www.myspace.com/sebastienlefebvreofficial or you can follow his tweets at http://twitter.com/sebLefebvre.
