In the midst of all the music noise out there today, there remains one band that keeps the mayhem alive and well. We all know them or have heard their tunes in one form or another. Bowling for Soup has been a part of a lucky few that seem to keep their musical presence known. Members Jaret Reddick, Gary Wiseman, Erik Chandler and Chris Burney have been at it for a long time and will keep on rocking their stuff to the millions of fans across the planet. To give us a glimpse of their continued success in the space, Jaret took some time to share their career in music.
To start, I asked Mr. Reddick how it all began. “Ha! Well, I wouldn’t say it was dreams of ‘stardom’ or anything glamorous at all. Honestly, we are from a small town… In that town, you had to find things to do to stay out of trouble or out of the factory. So we started a band. I can’t say it kept us out of trouble, but it kept us out of the factory!”
It is always helpful when music can bring about a strange sense of joy and laughter. Bowling for Soup are prime examples of musicians that have made great sounding music but with excellent videos attached to them. “I think the music is the best part of Bowling For Soup. I also love that we have made people smile all over the world. Making the early videos was a lot of fun too… Not just because Jive paid for them and we used every dollar we could! Ha! It has been a great ride!” I hope the ride is not over for them; we need their optimistic energy out there.
The larger the show the better they are for Jaret. “The festivals in the UK, namely Download, are the greatest and most exciting shows EVER! There is just no way to explain how it feels to have 100,000 people singing along to songs I wrote in my underwear!” Note to self, musicians DO write in their underwear, I knew it.
Unfortunately, they do not always have the ideal moment on stage. “We played a show down in south Texas. It was supposed to be this HUGE out door festival. They put us up in this amazing hotel with a swim up bar. So we spent the afternoon there. The forecast was 100% chance of rain. So we just KNEW the show wasn’t happening. So we had a bunch to drink. Lo and behold, it didn’t rain. So we show up at this ‘show’ and it is a MESS! The backline was provided by Best Buy! Ha-ha…We were literally playing through the amps and drums we would buy our six year olds for Christmas! Not to mention, the only beer they provided was Budweiser with Lime… Needless to say, we sucked royally! The 15 people watching us had no idea what the hell they were watching. It was a train wreck!”
Mr. Reddick shared his thoughts on the music scene today. “I am a fan of most of it. I don’t fear change. I will say that the pop world has gone to total shit! I see hope in certain bands, so that’s a plus, but half of what my kids listen to is terrifyingly terrible! I like the interactive nature of things now. Social media and fan-funded projects drive acts to work harder and reward the fans and their increasingly short attention spans.” Wait, what did he say? (Just kidding).
Luckily, Jaret has been a busy man beyond music. I asked if he had explored any additional mediums. “I already do. I have been directing and shooting videos for years. Producing as well. I have been a voice actor for about eight years, currently the voice of Chuck E Cheese. I also do improv comedy and have acted in a few low budget movies recently. I like to stay busy!” I knew Chuck’s voice sounded familiar.
As I am sure many music fans can relate, I have been a fan for quite some time with a love of Bowling for Soup’s songs such as: 1985, Almost, High School Never Ends and I Ran (So Far Away). I was curious to hear if Jaret would alter any of those tunes now. “I wouldn’t change anything. Just like life, I feel like everything happens for a reason. I am VERY proud of our body of work. I feel like we are very consistent and that leads to our fans trusting us.”
Mr. Reddick’s inspirations remain solid. “I am inspired by anyone being great at what they do! I just saw Faith No More on this last tour and it blew my mind! That show made me want to be great!” Glad to see he is still getting the urge to continue onwards. An ambitious drive always helps.
Bowling for Soup are still busy fellows. Jaret gave us the run down on what will be next. “[We are] gearing up for the West Coast tour. We have been home a bunch as of late, so it will be cool to get back out there! Besides touring, we have, actually, three DVDs in the works. One from last years Warped tour, a live acoustic and a live full band. As we approach summer next year, I think we will for sure start working on new stuff!” Wow, we have a lot of good music and entertainment to look forward to. I suggest you do your research and prepare for this great collection of art. Keep rocking and enjoy some Bowling for Soup magic.
Jam On.
Photo Credit – Will von Bolton
