Long before the 2002 release of Simple Plan’s debut No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (on Lava/Atlantic), the Montreal-based group’s roots were sown in the legendary French-Canadian teen punk band Reset, which got some notoriety playing in the mid-1990s with MXPX, Ten Foot Pole and Face To Face, among others. Simple Plan drummer Chuck Comeau met singer Pierre Bouvier in Reset when both were just 13, and mentioned that Reset’s sound "was a bit more aggressive than Simple Plan’s, but had a similar punk edge and attitude." As the band matured, their influences ranged from Guns ‘n Roses to Elvis Costello. "We were also fans of the bands we got to play with on the road, such as Face To Face and Blink-182." Comeau left the group in the late ‘90s to concentrate on his studies, but in 1999, he returned to music and began playing with guitarist and high school friend Jeff Stinco. Meanwhile, Bouvier, who had been playing bass as well as handling vocal duties in Reset, had left the band as well, and eventually reconnected with Comeau at a Sugar Ray concert. Together with Stinco, another high school pal named Sebastien Lefebrevre, and bassist David Desrosiers (who, in an amusingly ironic turn, was Bouvier’s replacement in Reset), the pair launched Simple Plan. The quintet recorded a number of demos and quickly became a mainstay at all-ages punk shows and festivals like the Warped Tour 2001, Edge Fest II and Toronto’s Snow Jam. Because of their enthusiasm and rapport with their fellow touring bands, Simple Plan found two guest vocalists when it came time to hit the recording studio for their debut: Joel Madden from Good Charlotte (who sings on "You Don’t Mean A Thing") and Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus (who contributes to "I’ll Do Anything"). "Hoppus has been friends with us for about eight years, and when we called him up to sing on the record, he said no problem," states Comeau. "We also got to hang with him one day at his house, and we were definitely stoked about it."

Hollywood has also given a positive response to Simple Plan’s sound. Two tracks from No Pads, No Helmets… have found their way onto soundtracks. Explains Comeau, "The record company rep talked with the producers of The New Guy about using the first single ‘I’m Just A Kid’, and it was a perfect fit." The band also devised the concept for the "Kid" video, in which lead singer Pierre Bouvier gets hit by a bus and pummeled by a wrestler as he tries to connect with a girl. Comeau notes that not all of the injuries happened onscreen: Bouvier ran into a door during filming, and Comeau also closed a car door on his hand. "The Worst Day Ever" has also made its way to the big screen in the recent feature Clockstoppers. "The band are big movie buffs, and we love hearing our own music in movies that we really appreciate," Comeau comments. Their soundtrack streak will continue this summer with the new song "Grow Up," which will be heard in Scooby Doo. "The song itself is close to us, because we aren’t truly ready to grow up yet," admits Comeau.