Pop-punk legends Bowling for Soup tour with Simple Plan ahead of unannounced new album
Even after 32 years, Bowling for Soup’s Jaret Reddick remains passionate and grateful to be working his “dream job.”
Over three decades ago, when Bowling for Soup was founded, Reddick didn’t think of the band as anything more than a quality pastime. Even a few years deep, when making a living as a full-time musician was slowly becoming reality, Reddick never dreamed Bowling for Soup would still be taking him across the globe to sold-out shows night after night.
“It’s pretty common that bands just kind of start for something to do; keep yourself out of trouble, get free beer, maybe try to meet some girls, and we definitely weren’t much different,” Reddick said. “Younger me would not have seen this coming. I assumed I’d be working a 9-to-5 by now.”
Lo and behold, the band celebrated 32 years in June. And the pop punk band will reunite with Simple Plan on tour as they anticipate the release of their new album.
Even after the countless performances, Reddick finds their success a warm surprise. Looking out at a sea of fans, those who spent hard-earned money and donated their time to be at the venue, continues to give Reddick goosebumps – sometimes it still feels that unbelievable.
“I’m really thankful that the music means enough to people that we’re still able to go out there and do this and just leave people with smiles on their faces every night, it’s hard to explain but it’s the greatest thing in the world,” Reddick said. “I’ve never really grown to expect it or to be able to count on it … as I walk out every night, I’m so thankful that all these people showed up.”
Over the past few years, Reddick has noticed a resurgence in 2000s pop punk and alt-rock. From influence on current music, modern pop culture and more parents bringing their kids to shows than ever, the nostalgia of this identifying genre of the time has brought new life to the scene.
Reddick believes it also helped that many bands recently had the 20-year-anniversary of their “big” breakout records, from Yellowcard to New Found Glory and Good Charlotte to Bowling for Soup’s “A Hangover You Don’t Deserve.”
“I feel like pop punk, as a genre, is timeless,” Reddick said. “I feel like it’s one of those genres of music that’ll live forever, kind of like hair metal. There’s always going to be people that are into it … we’re definitely having a few years of a moment right now and I’m not complaining.”
Perfectly timed in lieu of this resurgence is a pop-punk revival tour headlined by Simple Plan and featuring Bowling for Soup, as well as 3OH!3. The two bands have a long history dating back to 2002, when Bowling for Soup took Simple Plan on the road in Texas before touring the United Kingdom together in 2003. They also spent a number of years on the road together as part of the famed Warped Tour.
“It’s been so cool to watch both band’s trajectories,” Reddick said. “I love touring with my friends. So when we’re out on the road with Simple Plan, 3OH!3, I’m also out there as a fan, you know, I go watch the show every night.”
Although the Northern Quest Resort and Casino crowd will be treated to the hits, such as Bowling for Soup’s “1985” and Simple Plan’s “I’m Just A Kid,” Reddick particularly enjoys the reaction to a pair of interestingly beloved cartoon theme songs – that of “Phineas and Ferb” and “What’s New Scooby Doo?”
Reddick was one of the first people hired for “Phineas and Ferb” in order to create the opening theme while also voicing the lead singer of the show’s fictional band Love Handle. The Disney animated series debuted in 2007 and found more popularity than Reddick ever could have expected.
“I remember walking through the grocery store and seeing Phineas and Ferb mac-and-cheese, and being like, ‘Holy crap, there’s Phineas and Ferb mac-and-cheese, now we made it,’ ” Reddick said, while wearing a Love Handle shirt during an interview with The Spokesman-Review. “Then a few months later I see Phineas and Ferb Band-Aids and I’m like, ‘No, this is how you know you made it right here!’ Freaking Band-Aids? That’s ‘Barney’ and the ‘Muppets,’ that’s as iconic as you can possibly get.”
The theme, “Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day,” still receives an uproarious response and fans continue to dress as characters like Perry the Platypus. Meanwhile, fans of Simple Plan dress as Scooby Doo in preparation for their opening theme variant of the iconic multidecade cartoon.
“We both lean into it,” Reddick said. “You see young and old going crazy about it … it just makes me so happy, it’s really a cool thing.”
Although still technically unannounced, Bowling for Soup has a new album coming early next year. Reddick is well aware that the record will be different than that of two decades ago, but is extremely excited for the fans to finally hear it – especially because he usually ends up being the solo writer, but this time around bassist Rob Felicetti wrote about half the record as well.
“I’m not one of those guys that gets to the point where I’m delirious, so I’m not going to say it’s our best album ever because I don’t want to take ‘Drunk Enough to Dance’ or ‘Hangover You Don’t Deserve’ away from anybody because I understand why those albums are so important to people,” Reddick said. “It’s easily the best collection of songs we’ve ever recorded … if it were up to me we’d start releasing singles as soon as possible, and I think people are really going to dig it.
“It’s got enough freshness to it, but it’s still Bowling for Soup.”