It’s not a phase, Mom.
High school never ends, and neither does the party, as pop-punk legends Bowling for Soup are set to head to Philadelphia, taking the stage for a show at The Mann on Saturday, Aug. 30. The band is touring across the country alongside 3OH!3 and LØLØ as they support fellow icons Simple Plan for their 25th anniversary ‘Bigger Than You Think!’ tour.
As they began their tour through various venues on the West Coast, Bowling for Soup frontman Jaret Reddick sat down with Metro to discuss 30-plus years of the band, passing one billion streams, and more as the band makes their way to the stage in Philly.
Three decades of pop-punk classics
For 31 years, Bowling for Soup has graced the pop-punk scene, forming in 1994 and debuting their first release, a self-titled album, in September of that year. As the years went by, the band quickly became one of the most influential groups in the genre. In 2002, the band released ‘Drunk Enough To Dance,’ which featured some of the band’s lasting hit songs like ‘Emily’, ‘Punk Rock 101’, and ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want’, which went on to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Two years later, the band added to their list of instant classics with the release ‘A Hangover You Don’t Deserve,’ which featured ‘Almost, Ohio (Come Back to Texas)’, and a cover of ‘1985’ by the band SR-71 that became one of the signature sounds of the genre and entire culture of music lovers. Bowling for Soup’s version would go on to be considered one of the top 100 pop-punk songs (26) of all time.
Three decades later, as hordes of loyal fans crowd arenas and are joined by waves of new fans, the classics still hold up for fans of all ages, and for the band.
“My favorite is still ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want’. There’s something about the opening of that riff. I get to start the song, the look on everybody’s face when they notice [the song], they get it pretty instantly. And, there’s a call and response to the choruses that we do live. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a song that I like playing more than ‘Girl All the Bad Guys Want.’
“We’re opening the show with it right now, which is really weird, because historically, it’s been way towards the end. But we’re kind of coming out with a power set because we’re supporting Simple Plan. So it’s like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to convert, or reconvert some of these people to get back on our team.’ And so it’s hit them over the head with everything we’ve got. It really is a good adrenaline starter.”
One billion streams and counting
Those classics not only remain hits with the live crowd, but have thrived in the streaming age. Earlier this year, Bowling for Soup crossed one billion streams on Spotify, something even Reddick didn’t initially believe.
“It’s one of my favorite milestones of all time. My wife was taking a nap, and I was just sitting at our kitchen table on my computer doing some work, and she sent me a screenshot of a Facebook post declaring we had hit this insane milestone and asked ‘Is this real?’ And it was, whichever publication it was that put it out, that we had just passed a billion streams, and I just wrote back, ‘I have no idea.’ And so I sent it to my managers, and one of the guys on our media team did a search, and he came back, he goes, ‘Oh, it’s real, and you’re well over a billion now.’
“I was pretty shocked. But, it’s just one of those things, I told the guys this yesterday, I said, this is another one of those things that nobody can take away from us. We’re always going to be Grammy-nominated. We’re always going to have a billion streams. We will always have toured the world 10 times. These are all just amazing things that we’ll always have.”
The band has come a long way over the past three decades. In that time, there’s no shortage of lessons learned from life and the industry. Philadelphia is a city filled with musicians. Many who have already reached great heights, more than can be named, and many who are budding in their musical journeys. Those in the latter group, Reddick shared some of his experience and wisdom.
“A lot of it is somewhat cliche, but I feel like some of the most important lessons in life often are. If you don’t enjoy doing what you’re doing, stop. If you don’t like the people that you’re with, if you don’t like what it is you’re doing, don’t do it. If you don’t like the songs that you’re putting out, don’t do it. For 31 years, we’ve said when it stops being fun, we’ll stop doing it. And really, aside from a little break that we took in 2013, there was some crazy stuff going on, personally, life, you know, we took a six-month break. But, other than that, it’s still fun.”
“I think the best advice I can give to young artists, especially bands, is to learn a second thing. Like everybody in the band should learn something else. Take a college class on marketing. Take a college class on accounting. Be an asset to your own band. Learn website design. Learn social media management, social media advertising. Then all of you, not only are you able to contribute to your band in a way that is bigger than just your presence and your talent, but also you have a side hustle.”
Philly love
Reddick and the band have a genuine love for Philadelphia. It’s not just a tour stop; it’s a destination that never disappoints. As the band prepares to head to the City of Brotherly Love, they’re already excited not only for the show but also to enjoy all that the city has to offer.
“We love Philly every time we’re there. The crowds never let us down. It’s funny, it’s a huge sports town, I’m a huge football fan, a Steelers fan, and I get a lot of grief for that when I’m there, especially when I pull out my Steelers guitar. But it’s all in good fun. We’re all there for the music. And we do the whole touristy thing. We get cheesesteaks every time we’re there and do the full thing… Philly will always have a very special place in our hearts… it holds a dear place in my heart and my family’s heart, for sure.”
Bowling for Soup takes the stage at The Mann on Saturday, Aug. 30. Doors open at 5 p.m. For more information, visit manncenter.org
