Jaret Reddick – Bowling For Soup Interview

We caught up with Bowling For Soup front-man Jaret Reddick ahead of his UK acoustic tour with bandmate Erik Chandler.

Hello Jaret, how are you?
I am good, thanks!

You’re coming back over to the UK for a tour next month. Excited?
For sure. Always a blast over there. The best fans in the world! And the acoustic tour was such a blast last year, it will be even better this time round!

What’s your favourite thing about the UK?
Music fans. No clicks, just a love for music.

… and your least favourite?
Everything closes too early – except kebab houses.

You’re doing an acoustic show with Erik, don’t you miss the other guys? Does it feel like something is missing?
We miss the other guys for sure. It is always the best when the four of us are together, but Erik and I have been doing the acoustic thing since before Gary was even in the band – which was 13 years ago – so the acoustic shows seem very natural, and I think that will show.

Are they a very serious affair, or do you get to jump around and have a laugh?
They are far from serious… but jumping around may be over the top. Laughs will be plentiful!

After that it’s back over to the US for a tour – do you find that US and UK fans are different?
People are people wherever you go. US fans are a little more laid back, but that can be nice as well. We are just happy when folks dig what we are doing.

You guys must have some pretty awesome tour stories. Any that you can share with us?
Man, seems like since I am such an open book, I pretty much put them out there as they happen.
Most recently, we played a huge marathon right inside New Orleans. It was a fun night the night before, but nothing TOO crazy. When we arrived at the stage the morning of the show, Gary and Chris both went around our tent and started vomiting. I video taped the whole thing and then went around showing it to people around the event. It was a big hit.

Do you have any crazy fans or have you ever received any weird gifts from fans?
For sure. We have had crazy fans in the good and wacky sense of the word, and we always get amazing gifts. The best EVER was in Denver, Colorado. We were standing outside the venue, which was next to a sex shop, and I said “I LOVE that mannequin”. This kid goes “wait here”, he goes in and buys it for me. The worker sold it to him, and then reported it stolen! It made the news the next day.

You parted ways with your record label after 10 years, how are you getting on without them?
We were very much a self sufficient operation as it was. It is awesome to have the freedom to release and record whenever and whatever we want. That was really the only true issue we had, the limitations. We left on good terms and the fans will be VERY happy this year. We have a LOT in store!

Do you think bands need a record label to survive these days?
I think record labels play a HUGE part in a lot of band’s existence. It’s like this, no one can do it ALL alone. Aside from money and just overall knowledge of how things work, where is administration and legal type things that are much bigger than most bands realm of speciality? Most bands that are “doing it alone”, including us, have some help along the way with certain things.

Tell us about your new single, S-S-S-Saturday.
It’s a party song. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy!

How would you spend your ideal Saturday?
Wake up, book store with the family, all day with the kids, take the dog for a walk, evening with the wife, play a show opening up for Green Day.

The Phineas and Ferb theme is pretty cool – how did you get involved with that?
They actually sought me out. The creators were big fans of BFS so they brought me in and asked if I would want to turn their theme song into a full length single. I was stoked! They also asked me to read for a part in the show and cast me as Danny, the singer of Love Handel. It has been a blast!

You also had a truly awesome track, Endless Possibility, feature on the game Sonic Unleashed. Are you much of a gamer?
I am not, but I was familiar with Sonic the Hedgehog. That was another one that came about because they were fans of BFS. It was interesting because the music to the song was written, and they had “subject matter” in broken English. Writing the lyrics was a blast!

Is Charlie Sheen really winning?
I think the answer to that question is best left to the reader and his or her opinion as to what the definiton of “winning” is.

Who do we have to sleep with to make another Get Happy tour happen?
Someone would have to invent a time machine… [laughs]. Seriously, so glad everyone has such great memories of those tours!

For more info on BFS and to check tour dates click here.