Bowling For Soup just concluded their annual UK tour, and we were lucky enough to catch them last week in Manchester.
We sat down for a chat with Chris Burney (who we spoke to at Download Festival in June) to talk about being on the road, 'Stacy's Mom', his favourite BFS song, playing for the military and more.
-The tour's coming to an end - how's it been?
It's been good. We went through a rough patch where we were all kinda sick, mainly cos we'd be hungover after drinking till 7.40!
-I was going to ask whether life on the road had slowed down at all, but clearly not!
No, no. We're still stupid!
-Has it got easier over the years as you've got more used to it?
Well, it's easy and it's hard. There's times where you miss things - I miss my dog, the other guys miss their families. Those things are different, but the touring life - we like to rock out on tour.
-You come over here pretty much every year now. What is it about the fans here that keep you coming back?
Well, they still seem to enjoy us, so why not? Why deprive them of all this goodness?
-How do the fans here differ to the crowds you get back home in the States?
It's a little more mellow. Here, when people go to a show it's an all-day thing - they queue up. Over the States, you just show up for whatever band you want to see, you know? People don't turn up to a show until the headliners are playing, most of the time.
-The band formed in 1994, and has put out 11 albums. What's the secret behind your longevity?
We just kept it fun, and we've never taken ourselves to seriously. We never tried to change, we never came up with some new kinda album. We never said "We can't play Bowling For Soup music anymore".
-Was there ever been any temptation to move away from it at all?
[Laughing]Not really. Once you get out of your element, you're screwed!
-You say it's important it is to stay your element, but then you have b-sides like 'Goodbye Friend' which lyrically and musically are more, well, more serious. Are you glad fans still react well to that material?
Well, since we've been a band we've always had a song or two which has taken a page from the '80s power ballad. There's nothing wrong with having a serious song or two in there. We've always done that.
-Well then there's songs like 'Graduation Day', which sound more chilled out but retain the humour. Is it important to find a balance?
Yeah, a little bit, sometimes. You know, you've got to have a serious songs.
We've grown up together as people, and there's come a time when you want to write a song about people you've lost along the way. You might have a brother who has a drug problem or something, you know? You write songs about that sort of stuff.
-Moving to your most recent album Fishin' For Woos, how's the reaction been over the last few months?
Actually, the reviews on this record were some of the best reviews we've ever got with this band! I really have no idea how it's sold, I don't really pay attention to that, but I know that the reviews have been pretty good.
That makes you feel pretty good - it's better than someone saying "Oh, it's a s***-sandwich!" You don't wanna hear that!
-For you personally, how do you think it fits into your back catalogue?
I think that we finally got back to doing a little bit more riffy and guitar-heavy stuff. In the past few albums we've got into layers of guitars a bit too much - we'd have six or seven guitar tracks, you know? It's a lot more simplified, but I think it rocks more.
-Was that part of a different mindset for this record, along with breaking away from JIVE and going on your own?
Yeah a little bit. It was kinda cool to be in the studio and not have some f****** ass-hole sat there. It was a lot better being in there, being able to do something and know that some d***-weed from New York isn't going to chime in.
-Was that something that pushed you away from JIVE then, the control they were trying to have over it?
Well, we always have good control. It's just...you know, being on a label like that...they over-take everything, even the song order or which will be the hit single. I mean, what the f***? How about the first one?
They just over-analyse things, and it gets to be stressful when you learn that they're having these board meetings based on the order of your f****** album.
It's like, come on! Who gives a s***?! It's good to have a flow to the album, but at the end of the day - it's not rocket science! You just put songs one after another, you know?
-It's a bit trivial, but over your back catalogue, do you have a favourite track that stands out?
Let's see...probably 'My Hometown'. That made kinda a statement, and p***** a lot of people off where we're from. The point of the song wasn't to p*** them off. The whole point of the song was getting out and seeing the world, you know?
We go back to our hometown and all these people are still there. You get smarter by getting out, not by reading a bunch of books. That song was just like...go do some s***! Go do something that you wouldn't normally do, just to expand your world.
It's such a tiny place - it's a big, small town. People there just don't seem to want to get out. Then we did, and people got p*****, cos we did it!
-Since you got out of the town, what moments have stood out for you? I know in June you told me you had some military shows planned.
We got to see some cool places in Asia, and play for the military. It's cool, because they're just happy you're there. All the dudes want to take you out and get you drunk, take your picture. When you do shows with the Navy, the shows are always around water which is good, especially in the summer time!
-Just to talk briefly about the line-up for this tour - like your past tours, you've brought over a high calibre of band. Do you get a direct say in who you want to bring on the road?
Yeah. Suburban Legends were a band that we always wanted to tour with, cos they're fun and energetic. When you pick support bands, that's what you want!
We've wanted to tour with Less Than Jake forever, but that's just never happened.
We don't just put the tour together and say "Let's get these guys - they'll be cheap!" We try to make it fun.
We moved away from the four-band thing, because we didn't want people to get f****** tired. I know, standing there for four bands - it's kinda taxing.
-In terms of your fan-base you do things like the VIP tickets and Meet & Greets. Is it important to have that relationship with the fans?
Yeah, absolutely. You've got to keep in touch with the people that are buying your music. To be honest, the guys make fun of me after the show cos I always pack my s*** up early.
When I'm sitting at home, I'm not doing much. When I'm on tour, I want to hang out, meet people and have them say "You're awesome!" Well, thank you! When I get back home and nobody tells me anything for six months, it gets stored up.
-Well you do keep it up on Facebook and Twitter all the time. Is it important to keep that relationship, even when you're not on the road?
Yeah. We all do Twitter and all that. I'm one of the only ones who uses Facebook, everyone else has families and stuff. They wanna keep it more private, but I just add everybody.
I do a lot of bull-s*******. I do have a lot of people, old family members, and they'll read something and say "You shouldn't say that!" Block you, don't tell me what to do!
-You just released the single and EP for 'I've Never Done Anything Like That', with some interesting b-sides. You re-recorded 'The B**** Song' for it-
Right, yeah. That was something we've been wanting to do. It was our first major single we released, so we thought - let's do it again, let's have another crack at it!
-Has the years in between given it that extra energy and experience?
Well, yeah. The whole point of this tour is that the songs we play are all singles that we've released. It fit in that we did that. We also did 'Stacy's Mom', cos in the States everyone thinks that's our song!
So, we got tired of people thinking that it was our song, and Fountains of Wayne are good friends of ours. We just did the song, and they actually thought it was pretty f****** funny!
When they originally did it, they kinda did it on the fly. Adam Schlesinger (FoW vocalist) spoke to Jaret and said that it's funny to listen to the song with the vocals actually in tune!
He said he rushed it, but it's only things that a producer would notice. No-one will listen to 'Stacy's Mom' and go - "Oh! There's a bum note there!"
-Will there be another Christmas EP?
Oh yeah, we have a Christmas album out pretty soon. It was actually done on this tour, we got the masters. It should be out pretty soon.
-Besides that, what's planned for the band after this tour?
We've a couple of shows round the homestead in November. Then, February we're going to try to do some more military shows, and college shows - stuff like that.
Maybe around May or so, we'll start thinking about a new album, then a summer tour - hopefully some Warped Tour gigs this summer too.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
Bowling For Soup just concluded their annual UK tour, and we were lucky enough to catch them last week in Manchester.
We sat down for a chat with Chris Burney (who we spoke to at Download Festival in June) to talk about being on the road, 'Stacy's Mom', his favourite BFS song, playing for the military and more.
-The tour's coming to an end - how's it been?
It's been good. We went through a rough patch where we were all kinda sick, mainly cos we'd be hungover after drinking till 7.40!
-I was going to ask whether life on the road had slowed down at all, but clearly not!
No, no. We're still stupid!
-Has it got easier over the years as you've got more used to it?
Well, it's easy and it's hard. There's times where you miss things - I miss my dog, the other guys miss their families. Those things are different, but the touring life - we like to rock out on tour.
-You come over here pretty much every year now. What is it about the fans here that keep you coming back?
Well, they still seem to enjoy us, so why not? Why deprive them of all this goodness?
-How do the fans here differ to the crowds you get back home in the States?
It's a little more mellow. Here, when people go to a show it's an all-day thing - they queue up. Over the States, you just show up for whatever band you want to see, you know? People don't turn up to a show until the headliners are playing, most of the time.
-The band formed in 1994, and has put out 11 albums. What's the secret behind your longevity?
We just kept it fun, and we've never taken ourselves to seriously. We never tried to change, we never came up with some new kinda album. We never said "We can't play Bowling For Soup music anymore".
-Was there ever been any temptation to move away from it at all?
[Laughing]Not really. Once you get out of your element, you're screwed!
-You say it's important it is to stay your element, but then you have b-sides like 'Goodbye Friend' which lyrically and musically are more, well, more serious. Are you glad fans still react well to that material?
Well, since we've been a band we've always had a song or two which has taken a page from the '80s power ballad. There's nothing wrong with having a serious song or two in there. We've always done that.
-Well then there's songs like 'Graduation Day', which sound more chilled out but retain the humour. Is it important to find a balance?
Yeah, a little bit, sometimes. You know, you've got to have a serious songs.
We've grown up together as people, and there's come a time when you want to write a song about people you've lost along the way. You might have a brother who has a drug problem or something, you know? You write songs about that sort of stuff.
-Moving to your most recent album Fishin' For Woos, how's the reaction been over the last few months?
Actually, the reviews on this record were some of the best reviews we've ever got with this band! I really have no idea how it's sold, I don't really pay attention to that, but I know that the reviews have been pretty good.
That makes you feel pretty good - it's better than someone saying "Oh, it's a s***-sandwich!" You don't wanna hear that!
-For you personally, how do you think it fits into your back catalogue?
I think that we finally got back to doing a little bit more riffy and guitar-heavy stuff. In the past few albums we've got into layers of guitars a bit too much - we'd have six or seven guitar tracks, you know? It's a lot more simplified, but I think it rocks more.
-Was that part of a different mindset for this record, along with breaking away from JIVE and going on your own?
Yeah a little bit. It was kinda cool to be in the studio and not have some f****** ass-hole sat there. It was a lot better being in there, being able to do something and know that some d***-weed from New York isn't going to chime in.
-Was that something that pushed you away from JIVE then, the control they were trying to have over it?
Well, we always have good control. It's just...you know, being on a label like that...they over-take everything, even the song order or which will be the hit single. I mean, what the f***? How about the first one?
They just over-analyse things, and it gets to be stressful when you learn that they're having these board meetings based on the order of your f****** album.
It's like, come on! Who gives a s***?! It's good to have a flow to the album, but at the end of the day - it's not rocket science! You just put songs one after another, you know?
-It's a bit trivial, but over your back catalogue, do you have a favourite track that stands out?
Let's see...probably 'My Hometown'. That made kinda a statement, and p***** a lot of people off where we're from. The point of the song wasn't to p*** them off. The whole point of the song was getting out and seeing the world, you know?
Tagged in Bowling For Soup