NEW YORK (Lava Records) - Multi-platinum recording artists
Simple Plan recently took a couple of days off during their extensive world tour in order to shoot a poignant video for their new single, "Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)." Written and co-directed by the band and director Marc Klasfeld, "Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)" is an emotional look at how a family is torn apart by the inconsiderate act of drunk driving.
An early cut of the video was sent to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for feedback and the organization lauded the band's bravery in tackling this important message. "MADD is pleased that the band recognizes the seriousness of this issue and supports the work of MADD to stop drunk driving, support victims of this violent crime and to prevent underage drinking," said Steve Emerick, manager of school outreach.
The band's support of MADD includes a tag at the end of the video that says, "Traffic crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens and nearly one-third of teen traffic deaths are alcohol-related."
For more information, 1-800-GET-MADD, www.madd.org. Also, the band will participate in some capacity in MADD's school assembly show to debut in fall 2005.
"With each video, Simple Plan continues to triumph creatively," remarked Lee Trink, General Manager of Lava Records. "'Untitled' is a milestone for the band and the video's message will undoubtedly save lives. We are honored to be affiliated with a band as talented and socially conscious as Simple Plan."
The "Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)" video premiered May 3rd on MTV's daily countdown show TRL where it debuted at No 4. The video has since jumped to the No 1 slot several days running and remains in the Top 5 to this day. The video's emotional message and overall content continues to resonate with fans. The band's website which spawned the micro-site https://www.simpleplan.com/untitled, has received over 4000 postings since May 2nd, many of which are from fans who have experienced a similar tragedy on some level.
In an open letter to their fans, Simple Plan stated:
"This song is a very personal look at what happens when tragedy hits close to home and we wanted to make a video that was as powerful and as special as the song was to the five of us.
"Over the last few years, a lot of people we know have been involved in tragic crashes caused by drunk driving. One of the students at our high school crashed his car driving back from a weekend trip and killed his best friend. It was a very sad time that none of us will ever forget. When a crash happens, there's a lot more victims than people think, and many lives are changed forever... Parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, grandparents... everybody feels the impact.
"This is the story we wanted to tell with this video: the story of all the innocent victims caused by drunk driving. We hope you will take the time to watch the video. Thanks for all your support." - Simple Plan
Simple Plan is on the road in support of their latest release, "Still Not Getting Any..." Since its release in late October 2004, the album has sold over 2 million copies around the world on the strength of the chart topping single "Welcome To My Life" and the follow-up single "Shut Up."
Simple Plan kicked off their North American "Noise To the World" tour with pals Good Charlotte on May 1st and are expected to play in front of legions of fans. Simple Plan will also make an appearance on Warped tour this summer.
Simple Plan's debut album "No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls," was released in 2002 and has sold 3 million albums worldwide and spawned several top 10 hits including "I'd Do Anything," "Addicted" and "Perfect." In addition, Simple Plan were honored in 2003 and 2004 with MuchMusic People's Choice Awards, for Favorite Pop Act at the 2005 MTV Asia Awards, and a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. The band has also previously appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," and the "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn."
Simple Plan is Pierre Bouvier (vocals), Chuck Comeau (drums), David Desrosiers (bass, backing vocals), Sebastien Lefebvre (guitar, backing vocals) and Jeff Stinco (lead guitar). For more up-to-date Simple Plan information go to www.simpleplan.com.
