SUM 41

Sum 41 is a Canadian pop-punk band, from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed from members of several local high school bands, 41 days into the summer of 1996. The band consists of Deryck Whibley (a.k.a. Bizzy D performing lead vocals, guitar, keyboard/piano), Dave Baksh (a.k.a. Dave Brownsound with lead guitar and backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (a.k.a. Cone with bass and backing vocals), Steve Jocz (a.k.a. Stevo32 with drums and backing vocals). Since signing a record deal with Island Records in 1999, the band has released 4 full length albums, 1 EP, and over 10 singles.

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.

GENRE SUM 41

The genre of Sum 41's music has been disputed by fans because of the complex combination of different musical styles and the more mature, serious, and heavy sound in later albums. Fans and critics agree that Half Hour of Power and All Killer No Filler were mainly pop punk, punk rock and rapcore, but Does This Look Infected? and Chuck started moving toward heavier styles, such as alternative rock and alternative metal. Critics have described Underclass Hero as a revival of the band's old pop punk style. The genre argument is centralized around the punk streak of the band, and they have been labeled as pop punk, punk rock and alternative rock. Some of the band's songs contain political-social commentary; "The Jester" is an "anti-Bush screed", "Underclass Hero" is a song about class struggle, and "Dear Father" is about Deryck's absent father.