Deryck Whibley could have been the next Gavin Rossdale, a faded alt-rock star in the firing line of flashbulbs so long as his wife was a globally famous pop icon. But now, freshly separated from Avril Lavigne, he fashions himself as elusive as Eddie Vedder. That’s the impression provided by the latest profane 66-second YouTube update from Ajax, Ontario-bred Sum 41, now rehearsing a new album in California. Their lead singer can’t be bothered to come to the webcam at first, because he’s on the phone, and only lurks and smirks in the background after that. But he’s got bigger things on his mind: like the Bel-Air mansion for which Whibley’s 25-year-old ex-wife reportedly signed over the deed, leaving him to pay off the last million on the 10-and-a-half bathroom estate. But if InTouch is to be believed, billionaire trustafarian-cum-celebutard escort Brandon Davis is looking for a pad in which they both can live — leading to the requisite denial: “Avril Lavigne & I Have Never Hooked Up.” Oh, for a ticket to the world where drunken makeout sessions lead directly to buying palatial estates, considerably less complicated for a couple of crazy kids settling down in Cabbagetown. Now pressure is on for Whibley’s band to display some staying power, a decade after a blockbuster record deal — having not released a Sum 41 album since Underclass Hero sank in summer 2007, who is going to trust a band of mall punks over 30?