Interview: Bowling for Soup

Lead vocalist Jaret Reddick talks Texas and the pop punk scene ahead of their Lone Star state appearances on Simple Plan’s “Bigger Than You Think! Tour–The Sequel!” Tour.

Written by Arundhati Ghosh

Photo courtesy of Bowling for Soup

An alt rock staple from 1994 and veteran of the Vans Warped Tour since 2003, Bowling for Soup has always been a big name for pop punk die-hards everywhere. Lead vocalist Jaret Reddick sat down with Arundhati Ghosh of Barricade Magazine to discuss the band’s Texan roots, touring with other major acts Simple Plan and 3OH!3, and the pop punk scene at large.

Arundhati Ghosh: In an interview with Rock Sound, Frank Turner said that he was surprised by how much country [Jaret listens] to, and I’m always thinking about the lyrics of “Ohio (Come Back to Texas).” This is a bit of a two-part question about that. How much does having a start in Texas affect y’all’s music and songcrafting, and do you feel that you have certain songs or albums that have particular roots in Texas, not just lyrically, but in Southern musical traditions?

Jaret Reddick: For sure, yeah. I mean, I grew up listening to the storytellers. Waylon [Jennings] and Willie [Nelson], Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton. I loved the visuals that you got from songs that the storytellers put out there, and that’s a really big influence on me, especially lyrically. And we have songs like “All Figured Out” and “Drinkin’ Beer on a Sunday” that really lean more towards that country sound, so yeah, the influence is definitely there musically and lyrically. It’s… how I want to write songs. I want people to visualize [the music].

Would the Denton music scene have affected your sound as well?

We were so early in [the Denton scene], that I feel like it’s my childhood in Wichita Falls and the music that my parents listened to that affected us. By the time that we got to Denton, we’d already been together [as a band] a couple of years. We were pretty much full force. Before pop punk was actually a thing, we were pretty much already doing that there.

You guys have talked a little bit about the tour experience with two other groups and crews for other outlets. How has that experience been? Do you foresee hometown or home state shows feeling different coming back with 3OH!3 and Simple Plan, as opposed to times you’ve been here performing by yourselves?

Yeah! It’s definitely a different thing. We’re so used to Texas shows being our shows, and us being the headliner. It’s definitely different when we come back as part of a package and we’re first or second on the bill, but it’s the same vibe. It’s always so great to come home. Being on a tour like this, there’s such a family environment. There always is, with us. You get to be close with the other bands and the other crews, and you have your people that you go check in on everyday, and then you find yourself talking to the guitar tech for one of the other bands for an hour. It’s just a really nice experience. Everyone’s real like-minded, and we’re all out here trying to do the same thing, which is [sic] put some smiles on people’s faces. It’s three bands that are really good at doing it.

When you hit the Texas tour stops, are there specific places or restaurants you’re looking forward to hitting, or that you’ll be recommending to other bands?

We’re definitely going to get some Tex-Mex when we cross over the border. It’s funny, the stuff we miss is Taco Casa, or things that are so simple. You’d think you could find something like it everywhere, but you just can’t. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’d be fun to take some guys to a good barbecue place and blow their minds! I was working with a young artist whose song I featured on recently, and I wasn’t able to take them to lunch but I sent them to Hutchins BBQ up in Dallas, and every single one of them sent me a text saying, “This just is crazy! This is the best thing I’ve ever had.”

My last questions are a bit of a pivot away from Texas. In general over the last 5-10 years, we as a public have been hearing a lot about pop punk being dead, or alive, or resuscitated. 

Yeah, absolutely.

How do you guys feel, at large, about the genre label and/or the growing need to place artists into labels and, often, subcultures? Has this growing tendency affected how you market or present yourselves? Did it affect the rollout of Pop Drunk Snot Bread?

I personally like it, because I think it puts you in a peer group and is very helpful. I think the reason that there has been this big resurgence is because of so many things that just added up over time. I don’t think pop punk will ever go away. It’s always going to be one of those things, like ’80s metal, whether it’s hair metal or glam metal, whichever one you like. You are always going to have it in waves. Blink-182 got back together, Newfound Glory, Less Than Jake, and Yellowcard, Story of the Year, Simple Plan, all had albums turn 20 a couple years ago.

“Phineas and Ferb” is back for us, too, so you know, being labeled as pop punk, to us, is actually beneficial in my opinion. Yellowcard goes on the radio and has a number one [hit], somebody goes and puts a Yellowcard playlist on their phone, Bowling for Soup is going to pop up 3 out of 4 times. That’s the benefit of there being a genre as a sort of placeholder.

I also think it’s become a little bit blurry. Emo for some reason encompasses all of it now, when emo used to be a subgenre itself. Now, with Emo Nite and [Emo’s Not Dead] Cruise, you have pop punk bands that are crossing over flawlessly into that whole thing. At the end of the day, it’s all Warped Tour music.

I was just about to ask about the [Vans] Warped Tour Effect!

Yeah! It’s exactly that; it’s all the bands that played Warped Tour. I was actually just talking about this last night. One of the beauties about being a Warped Tour band is that Bowling for Soup could tour with Sleeping with Sirens, and nobody would bat an eye. You’d be like, “Oh, that’s really interesting.” You’ve got Good Charlotte out there touring with Avenged Sevenfold, and it makes sense. It makes sense because of the Warped Tour. I feel like we’re all subgenres of that now.

With Warped Tour being back, that’s a whole thing for all of us. I feel like things will ebb and flow a little bit, but right now, we’re on a high tide. We’re on the Simple Plan tour, every show is selling out, and the crowds are just amazing. Streaming numbers are up. We’re definitely planning to ride this wave as long as we can.

Are there any up-and-coming pop punk acts you’d like to shout out?

Definitely! There’s Ayo Dylan, who I just did a feature on and everybody should check him out. The Paradox is a great one, obviously, and Don’t Panic is a new band I really like. They started as a pop punk band but they’re kind of rock ’n roll now. Those are some great acts. 

This interview has been minimally edited for clarity.

You can find Bowling for Soup on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, and on social media such as Instagram and Facebook.