Autopilot Off (file)
Photo: Island Records

They thought a lot about their band name, and they live by its message. Autopilot Off aren't into cruising through life or letting other people direct their destiny. Since forming in New York's Orange County in 1998, the abrasive, melodic punks have followed only their own hearts and goals.

"We know a lot of people who let life take them wherever it does, and then they complain about it," guitarist Chris Hughes said. "We believe that if you really want something, you can get it, you just have to be willing to work for it. It just takes a lot of determination."

That, and a little luck. Not long after Autopilot Off formed, the band toured with the Get up Kids and MXPX and learned how to win over audiences and develop a grass-roots following. They got the gig because MXPX got hold of Autopilot Off's demo, liked it and wanted to pass on some good karma. "We exist because those guys gave us a big break," Hughes said. "They took us out when we were totally unknown and said good things about us, and from then on good things started to happen. We're in debt to those guys forever."

Autopilot Off's other big break came last year, when Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong heard demos for the band's major-label debut, Make a Sound, and invited Autopilot Off to travel with Rancid on the Warped Tour for four days and work on some songs. "We were just writing songs for the sake of writing them, not for inclusion on the record," singer Chris Johnson said. "It was a great opportunity and something that was flattering for us because Rancid was one of our big influences."

"It was really amazing," Hughes added, "because Tim requested for us to be there because he liked our band. That blew our minds. While we were doing it, we were like, 'Man, why are we even here? We don't have a record out, and this guy's a legend.' "

Both songs, "Blind Truth" and "What I Want," made the record, and "What I Want" wound up being the first single. Johnson and Armstrong based the verses on Armstrong's separation from ex-wife Brody Dalle, but the track ultimately rings with hope.

"There's all this regret and realization about this shake-up," Johnson said. "It's saying, 'I was with this person who I thought was everything, and it ended up not working out and now my life is in disarray. But then the chorus kicks in and goes, 'This is what I want/ This is what I need/ This is exactly what I've been waiting for.' So it's all about things continuing on, no matter what."

The rest of the record offers a similar balance of pessimism and optimism, and the band expresses the same sentiment musically by blending crashing rhythms and crunchy riffs with sugary vocals. Some have argued that Autopilot Off's upfront melodies dull down their edge. Other accuse the band of writing songs for radio, but for the band, it's those hum-along hooks that provide the essential framework for the songs.

"Melody is the most important thing in a song because that's what people remember," Johnson said. "You can have the coolest guitar parts in the world, but if you have no melody, people aren't going to latch onto what you're saying."

And Autopilot Off feel that what they're saying is pretty important. While lots of pop-punk groups sing about dysfunctional relationships, missed opportunities and thwarted goals, Johnson is more interested in digging through the dismay to find the light at the end of the long tunnel.

"For me, uncertainty in lyrics should always be accompanied with this element of hope," he said. "Otherwise you're just being negative, and what's the point of that? I think writing is a good way to purge all of your negative thoughts and get to the root of things so that you can find that positive outcome."

• Autopilot Off

Sum41's Deryck Whibley
Photo: Universal

PHILADELPHIA — April fools were on the loose at the kick-off date of the Sum Like It Hot Tour Monday night at the Electric Factory.

At the head of the parade was Deryck Whibley, who led his band, Sum41, in an hour's worth of snotty punk rock, heavy metal reverence and irreverent shtick. The singer donned a Nike headband thrown onto the stage from the audience. "Does this make me cool?" Whibley asked before taking it off. "I'm just not cool — sorry." Dave Baksh, Sum41's lead guitarist and stage foil to Whibley, replied, "Nothing will make you look cool."

Maybe not cool, but the slight and spiky Whibley certainly was popular with the many teenage girls in the audience. Seemingly every gesture drew shrieks from the "TRL" set and the amount of assorted female undergarments thrown onstage made Whibley seem like a Generation Y Tom Jones.

"I liked Deryck the best," said Trish Troutman, 15, of Levittown, Pennsylvania.

Musically, Sum41 — also Jay McCaslin (bass) and Steve Jocz (drums) — mines the same pop-punk sounds of Green Day and Blink-182. Melodic song structures were set off by crunchy power chords and a vigorous intensity. The Ontario group's platinum-selling debut album, All Killer No Filler, was the main feature, of course, with hits "Fat Lip," "In Too Deep" and "Motivation" drawing the biggest responses. "It's What We're All About," a rap-rock track from the group's 2000 EP, Half Hour of Power, was performed during the encore to the delight of the audience.

While Whibley had Johnny Rotten's snarl in his voice, much of the evening was dedicated to the exorcising of demons of a heavy metal youth. The band performed in front of a devil, flames and mudflap-girl backdrop. Whibley grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel's — the libation of metaldom — to use as a slide bar on his guitar during a solo. When Whibley and Baksh engaged in a guitar battle, Whibley evoked the essence of Angus Young to win the fight.

"Nobody beats AC/DC, no matter how badly it's played," Whibley said, summing up the matter.

Toby Morse, lead singer of the New York hardcore band H2O, had an announcement for the audience during his band's set, which preceded Sum41's.

"We're not being a band anymore after this tour," Morse told the stunned audience, before adding, "April fools!"

But H2O didn't play the fools for long Monday night. Instead, the band combined the ferocity of the New York hardcore scene with the mischievousness and melody of contemporary punk. Such songs as "Guilty by Association" and "Role Model," the latter from the group's latest album, Go, struck a rebellious chord, yet did so without cynicism or sarcasm.

H2O fans seemed to equal Sum41's in the Electric Factory audience. Combined, the total was less than the 2,500 capacity of the venue.

"H2O played to the crowd," said Amber Vanderslice, 19, of Boyertown, Pennsylvania. "They got down with the audience."

The band also got down on '70s rocker Ted Nugent. H2O — also Todd Morse (guitar), Rusty Pistachio (guitar), Todd Friend (drums) and Adam Blake (bass) — dedicated the song "Forest King" to the Nuge, an outspoken advocate of hunters' rights.

"The most cowardly thing you can do is shoot an animal," Toby Morse said.

U2 fared a little better. H2O dedicated its "Shine the Light" to the Irish rockers, and even inserted a few verses of U2's classic "Sunday Bloody Sunday" into the song.

Autopilot Off, a quartet from New York State, delivered a straightforward set of punk to open the evening. The group will release an EP on April 23.

The Sum Like It Loud Tour has dates scheduled in North America through May 7. Goldfinger will replace H2O on April 24.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports

• Sum 41
• H2O (Rock)
• Autopilot Off