Talking with Bowling for Soup singer Jaret Reddick, you may not immediately get the sense that this affable, down-to-earth Texan fronts a Grammy- and Emmy-nominated pop/punk band with over a million album sales to their credit. If you compare our first album to our tenth one, you could be like, Lets see Well, their voices finally changed, and they got a lot better musically, but they still sound like the same guys to me, Reddick says, the grin audible in his North Texas drawl. Man, I would hope were still the same guys! Can you imagine what a bummer itd be if we werent?
Weve created our niche, and our niche is us, says Reddick, who formed Bowling for Soup in 1994 and today rounds out the Denton, Texas-based quartet with guitarist Chris Burney, bassist Erik Chandler and drummer Gary Wiseman. We know there are lots of people out there who think guys in their 30s shouldnt be writing about stuff like their Wena and farts and beers and chicks. (Incidentally, youll find all of the above on Sorry for Partyin.) But I say why not? What should guys in their 30s be writing about? The economy? War? Organic food versus non-organic? We like funny movies, and we like to drink beer and talk smack about each others moms. Theres nothing contrived about itthis is who we are.
For anyone else who thinks humor doesnt belong in music, lets also remember that this is who BFS are: A worldwide phenomenon with a string of hit singles (including 2006s High School Never Ends and the 2004 MTV and radio smash 1985) to their credit. A fan-favorite live act whose chemistry is so innate theyve never had to prepare a set list. And a TV- and movie-soundtrack juggernaut whose Emmy-nominated contribution to Disneys Phineas and Ferb is literally the most widely heard cartoon theme song on the planet. Quite a step up from the salad days when they were handing out demos in Warped Tour parking lotseven if the motives behind the music have stayed the same since then.
Considering how long theyve been a band, its no small wonder that Bowling for Soup still find new ways to go for it in the niche theyve carved out for themselves. But as Reddick notes, that sense of abandon is just the thing thats allowed BFS to tackle ‘Sorry for Partyin’ as if it were their first record, not their 10th. Weve always said that the day its not fun anymore, were just not gonna do it anymore, he concludes. So why focus on the down side? Lets keep doing what we do best. Lets keep having fun.
The band have toured tirelessly throughout their career playing a total of over 3,000 shows so far and sharing the stage with the likes of Avril Lavigne, Kiss, Aerosmith, Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Linkin Park, Black Sabbath, Metallica and even Britney Spears!
