Sebastien Lefebvre
November 11th, 2009 - Written by isabelle
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Sébastien Lefebvre from the internationally known band Simple Plan. This time, the subject wasn’t the 7,5 million records he sold with his band or the amazingly big crowds I have witnessed throughout the entire summer, it was him and only him and his guitar.
For Sébastien, picking up a guitar and writing a song wasn’t something new; he’s been doing it since he was 13. But being alone behind a project was a first for him. Let’s be honest; he totally took everyone by surprise. I dare to hope he is not disappointed with the result because it is a brilliant work. On his EP, he stands sincere and sensitive which leads songs to be heartbreakingly good. When I met him at Steve’s music in the Old Port, I was with a truly passionate musician who proves once again that the number of copies sold doesn’t matter. The young man was excited about his music and it shows. With the album You are here/Vous êtes ici, Sébastien Lefebvre presents to the world his versatility and his imposing talent.
CONFRONT- How was the recording process?
SÉBASTIEN- It was fun. It was very easy because I did everything myself. I played all the instruments. I did all the arrangements so it was very different to work alone than to work with a producer and four other guys. But I’m a nerd in that way. I’m the type of person who likes to sit in my studio and try different arrangements, try different harmonies, just work on different things. I very much enjoyed working alone on a project like this one.
CONFRONT- So you didn’t work with anybody.
SÉBASTIEN- I worked with me. That’s it. I did everything; bass, piano, programming, singing, guitar, everything.
CONFRONT- What program did you use? Pro…what’s it called…
SÉBASTIEN- Protools! I recorded everything on ProTools. It’s the program I know very well. It goes very fast working on a computer.
CONFRONT- Is there anyone you think of as an inspiration? Like Jason Bajada, Jason Mraz, or Jack Jonhson?
SÉBASTIEN- Yeah definitely Jack Johnson. Obviously. I love his vibe. He has that ‘laid back’. Sort of the music style ‘a guy and a guitar’. That’s a little bit what I was going for. I am a big Damien Rice fan as well.
CONFRONT- I don’t know him..
SÉBASTIEN- Ha! You should know..! He is a fantastic singer. Irish! He is very dark in his music and his lyrics. He always manages to do something original and special, even though it is just a guy and a guitar. I’ve seen him live a couple of times and I was impressed every time. Definitely a big influence for me.
CONFRONT- Did he come to Montréal or you saw him while you were on tour?
SÉBASTIEN- I saw him in Montréal once at Latulipe. He was alone. That’s it. Acoustic guitar. And then once at Café Olympia and he was with his full band then…
CONFRONT- Okay! Why did you end up going solo?
SÉBASTIEN-Why did I end up going solo? Well…*laugh*
CONFRONT- The question everybody’s asking…
SÉBASTIEN- Of course! I don’t want to leave Simple Plan at all.
CONFRONT- Everybody is so scared…
SÉBASTIEN- I am not mad at anybody or nothing. It’s just because I write a lot. I write a lot of songs and some of them don’t sound at all like Simple Plan’s songs. Every song starts off on the acoustics. That’s the basic way of writing songs. Some of them sound like they’re going to be pop-rock songs. Those are the ones I turned into pop-rock songs and that I show to everybody. We talk about them like we always do before every record. Some songs were just completely different and I figured why have them go to waste? So I decided to talk to everybody. I said like ‘I have all these songs and I think I want to put them out’. Everybody was very into it like ‘Go for it you should try. It’ll be fun!’. So I’m like alright! So I did it
CONFRONT- But usually do you write for the Simple Plan record ?
SÉBASTIEN- I just write. Whatever comes out, comes out. Whether it ends up being a Simple Plan song it’s good, whether it’s a dance song that I am never going to use. But that’s the song I wrote at that time. This time, I wrote some songs that sound a little bit more acoustic.
CONFRONT- What about the two other projects with Patrick Langlois (Musique Plus and Simple Plan’s webmaster)? The podcasts Man of the Hour and Podcrash ?
SÉBASTIEN- Pat got too busy! *laugh*
CONFRONT- Because of Vj Recherché?
SÉBASTIEN- Yes I guess! Because of that and his job at Musique Plus. Man of the hour is kind of sitting on the back burner as is Podcrash in French.
CONFRONT- That happens often though! *laugh*
SÉBASTIEN- That happens very often! *laugh*.Of course it’s not as easy as it was before. Before obviously we were traveling together all the time. So it was easy to take half an hour out of our week to record a show. But now it’s getting a little bit harder because our schedules don’t really match up. Probably at some point he is going to do the PodCrash on his own and I am going to start to do the Man of the Hour podcast on my own. It is not going to be as fun…
CONFRONT- You guys are funny together!
SÉBASTIEN- I know! Maybe it is the last season…
CONFRONT- You guys always say that though! *laugh*
SÉBASTIEN- I know we always say that! I know! *laugh*
CONFRONT- How did you get the idea for the Podcrash? Did it come from Musique Plus?
SÉBASTIEN- It just came from Patrick! With all of these bands it could be fun to do one in French as well. Because obviously now he works in French at Musique Plus. He wanted to do more stuff. I don’t know why. I was into it. It is always fun to discover new bands from Canada and there are a lot of good bands.
CONFRONT- Yeah sure! Why did you feel the need to put a little bit of French in your EP for instance in La Nouvelle Vie?
SÉBASTIEN- To try something new. That was the whole concept of this record; a different style of music. Something I’ve never done before. Singing in French is something we’ve never done before. I tried. I gave it a lot of thought because you can sound very cheesy when you sing in French or you can sound too snoby or French from France. I sort of tried to play with that and I found what really works for me in the end. I am very happy with the way it came out. There are definitely more French songs in the work.
CONFRONT- Why the title You are here/Vous êtes ici?
SÉBASTIEN- It comes from a fire exit plan in my building!
CONFRONT- *laugh*
SÉBASTIEN-Because it shows you which way to go! *laugh* It is something I always wanted to put on a t-shirt for some reason. I always wanted to have a t-shirt that says ‘you are here’ ‘cause obviously you are in the t-shirt.
CONFRONT- That’s clever!
SÉBASTIEN- It sort of makes sense! Then I had the idea for the record and I thought it really worked. Multiple senses to the sentence. I think it can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. You can sort of make it your own rule.
CONFRONT- Could we say that it’s related to the fact that in at least one of your song you are talking about going away with someone? Can you relate that to the title?
SÉBASTIEN- Yes! I think so. It could mean a lot of different things. It could be in a place, it could be where you are in your life. It could be what you want to do.
CONFRONT- So, you are trying something new so now you are here.
SÉBASTIEN- Exactly. Am I just sitting on a couch in front of a pink wallpaper? Maybe. You know, that’s what the album cover is. Pink wallpaper!
CONFRONT- If you could start all over again, would it be something you would like to do, in French?
SÉBASTIEN- Yeah it is really weird because I grew up listening to english music and so did the other guys in the band. For us, singing comes naturally in english even though our mother tongue is French. It is something that a lot of people do very well. I don’t think Rock for us, for the band would work at all in French. But I am not opposed to do it.
CONFRONT- Your songs in French during the concerts are really good! *laugh*
SÉBASTIEN- They’re very funny!*laugh* They are sort of joke songs. It’s funny like when we sing in French we don’t take ourselves seriously when we are with the band. We are not opposed to it. It’s probably going to happen.
CONFRONT- You must get tired of hearing that though…
SÉBASTIEN- No, no ! Actually every time we get asked the question I think it’s one more step towards actually doing it. I did it because I think with the acoustic vibe, French doesn’t sound as weird as in a big rock song, singing on stage in an arena or something.
CONFRONT- Okay so now I have some questions from the Invasion crew!
SÉBASTIEN- Yeah! Invasion crew!!!
CONFRONT- I have a question from Julie. She is from Germany and she would like to know that if this is your first step on the solo journey, what do you want to reach?
SÉBASTIEN- Oh what’s coming next. I think that the idea of having half a record, just seven songs, is that I’m going be able to put out some more, more often. Because obviously it doesn’t take as long to record or to write. I think there’s definitely going to be more of those little EPs. I don’t ever think it’s going to take over unless we do really take a long break with Simple Plan. I just love to write and I love to record and that is what is coming; more writing, more recording.
CONFRONT- But you are planning on doing only EPs.
SÉBASTIEN- Yeah I think so.
CONFRONT- Not a full a record?
SÉBASTIEN- I don’t think full records are relevant anymore with the way the music industry is, for new bands anyway. Especially this being a side project. I think if the fans like it with EPs or half records, they are going to be able to get new songs more often instead of waiting two years to get a full record. Because they’ll get to listen to it for a week or two and put it on the shelf then wait for two more years.
CONFRONT- For Lights for instance, it worked out.
SÉBASTIEN- Yeah it worked out great but then she made a record with half the songs you already know and it’s going to take a while before you hear new stuff from her if you already knew the EP. So EPs all the way. That’s what I do. That’s my thing.
CONFRONT- Now Tati from Brazil would like to know if you have any plans about playing your songs live?
SÉBASTIEN- I do not have any plans. When we are on tour with Simple Plan we are extremely busy and when we get back to rest for a week, the last thing I want to do is probably going out and play some shows. Usually when I get back from tour, I’m sick. Therefore, I can’t sing. However, I am not opposed to it. If the opportunity comes, I’ll play a couple of shows around Montreal probably. That’s not one of my priorities. The real goal here was really to write and to record and to put it out there. Not to go and tour and have to prove myself that way. I don’t feel that need at all.
CONFRONT- But still, it’s all over the world anyway!
SÉBASTIEN- Yes!
CONFRONT- That’s cool! Dennis from New Jersey would like to know if you are thinking of doing a music video with one of your song ?
SÉBASTIEN- Yes! Actually next week! Chuck (Simple Plan) is going to be the director and we are going to shoot the video for I Fall for You because that is the single.
CONFRONT- Here?
SÉBASTIEN- I think it’s going to be in Toronto. Believe it or not, it is cheaper to shoot over there.
CONFRONT- Than in Montréal?
SÉBASTIEN- Yeah! As we all try to save money, cheaper sounds good! There’s going to be more multiple mlogs on the internet.
CONFRONT- That’s funny!
SÉBASTIEN-That’s really funny! *laugh*
CONFRONT- You, talking to yourself!*laugh*
SÉBASTIEN- Yes! I know that’s always great! There’s a lot of mlogs and I am sure I’m going to end up doing all the songs. Then before the next record comes out, I’m sure there is going to be even some new songs that aren’t on this album so …I don’t know I’ll have fun!
CONFRONT- Can you tell us something about the music video ? Is there something you know you want to do ?
SÉBASTIEN- Well, I am going to be in it. There is going to have a lot of slow motion in the video. It is going to be a one day shoot. And…no I don’t want to tell you anything about the video…
CONFRONT- Why not!
SÉBASTIEN- You’ll have to see! The video is pretty much one concept so if I tell you that, that’s the whole video.
CONFRONT- Is it your idea or Chuck’s idea?
SÉBASTIEN- It was Chuck’s idea actually. He had a really good idea so we brainstormed a little bit and worked on it and now it’s an awesome idea.
CONFRONT- The guys from Simple Plan are helping you with that
SÉBASTIEN- Yes! It is cool. I asked him because I wanted him to leave me alone and agree with….No! Kidding ! *laugh* I asked him because he has been involved with every single Simple Plan video and I think he did a great job every time. It is going to be his director debut. So hopefully other bands are going to ask him now to direct their videos.
CONFRONT- Great!
SÉBASTIEN- I hope that works out great for him!
CONFRONT- And last question, why I Fall For You as the first single ?
SÉBASTIEN- I think it represents well what the whole album is about. It is a very personal song. Very introspective. I think it’s very chill, acoustic, a little bit of programming comes in. It’s very much what I was going for, with the record, with the style of music, with the arrangements and all that. So I think that’s the best song to be the first single.
CONFRONT- Well thank you so much for your time!
SÉBASTIEN- Thanks to you !
To read SteveK’s review of Sebastien’s album please click HERE.
For the latest new on Sebastien, you can check out his Myspace that he is controlling himself. Simple Plan is currently working on their next record that will probably be released around spring next year.
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sebastienlefebvreofficial
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