How are you looking forward to your second acoustic tour (in April 2011)?
Our first acoustic tour in April of last year was such an amazing success as far as ticket sales went, so immediately we were discussing the possibility of a “next time”…but once we started the tour, every night was so awesome. it was just a very special experience for us and the fans seemed to be loving it as much as we did. At that point it was a no brainer. We had to do it again, so here we are…coming back and we’re super stoked to bring maybe even a slightly different experience than we did last time.
What can we expect from the tour? Are you playing BFS songs only or is there gonna be some 'acoustic only' material?
We’ll be playing BFS material...mostly...I’m sure that we’ll be throwing in a cover here and there, but the main idea is to show everyone Bowling For Soup in a way that you haven’t seen us before. Slightly re-imagined. But for the most part you can still expect the same attitude…it’s not like we pick up acoustic guitars and suddenly turn into coffeehouse poets.
Tell us more about your new side projects and how they feature on the acoustic tour
Well, in Jaret’s case, People On Vacation was an idea that came about while we were on tour last year with our friends SMILE SMILE. He and Ryan (vocals and guitar in SMILE SMILE) discussed writing songs together thinking that the combination of their two very different styles would be an interesting match…and I think it’s fucking awesome. Coincidentally enough, their name came about on the first acoustic tour. Last year’s opener, Bob Schneider, hosts a “songwriting game” that Jaret, Ryan, and I were involved in. Once a week a song title is presented and everyone playing then writes the song of that title. “People On Vacation” was one of the song titles, and they thought it would be a great band name. They just played their first three shows last weekend in Texas. I’m sad I wasn’t able to be there to see them, but I’ve heard from several friends that the shows were great.
As for the Mulberry St. Socialites, that’s a project that was conceived almost five years ago. Maybe more. The initial idea is that Jaret and I wanted to do a side project together but focus it around my songwriting. We initially thought it should lean slightly to the country side of the fence, in that whole no depression/alt country vein. And I wrote songs for that. We both did. But about a year ago, it was decided that I should do it as a “solo” project and my songwriting direction immediately changed. I quit trying to write in one certain style, and just wrote the songs as they came. I’m really proud of the direction it’s gone. I also wrote with a few friends, and each of those experiences were awesome. now, I’m just excited to finish the album and release it later this year.
The decision to bring our side projects along as the opening acts this year was pretty easy to make. For one thing, when you open for yourself, you don’t have to pay someone else to open for you! But, mostly we saw this as a great opportunity to introduce Bowling For Soup fans to our other artistic ventures…Especially when all three have new albums coming out this year. It also kind of fits the vibe of the evening…not only will you see BFS do things slightly differently, but you’re going to start off the night seeing us do something you’ve never, ever seen before.
What's the best thing about acoustic tours, in comparison to normal full band tours?
That is very simple…there is so much room! On a normal BFS tour, our band alone will have 15-16 people with us between band and crew. Add 3 more bands, their crews, girlfriends, boyfriends, blah, blah, blah…you can end up with a touring party of 50+ very easily. I believe this year the entire acoustic tour party will be 9 people. Everyone has a place to sit, and that’s a good thing. Beyond that, the shows are much more intimate. It’s a much more subdued atmosphere…we’re actually able to have a conversation with the crowd. It’s a pretty special night.
And the worst?
The worst part? We miss all of our friends that are supposed to be there with us taking up all of the extra room that we created by not bringing them…damn those catch 22s…
Tell us about BFS's new album ('Fishin' for Woos') which is due for release in May
At the end of 2009/beginning of 2010, we left our record label of 10 years. Our first thought was to immediately get into the studio and make an album that would be completely free of any outside “record label” influence. We wanted to get in and pound out a straightforward BFS rock record and do it the way we wanted to do it. And we wanted to do it as quickly as possible. So, that being said, when last year’s acoustic tour was over in mid-April, it was time to write. We booked two weeks in a Dallas studio for June and kind of crossed our fingers. The songs were finished just in time…I had a copy of the mostly acoustic demos three days before we went into the studio. And then we knocked out 15 songs in 14 days. It was a blur, but we somehow managed to do it.
The new album was decidedly done to kind of take a step back to a “core” BFS sound. I’m not necessarily saying that the songwriting took a step back, but by design we dialed back the production a bit. We took most of the songs back to a more raw 2 guitars, bass, and drums idea. Over the last few albums, we’ve started to get really involved in the studio process…using lots of instruments and studio toys and what not. You’ll still find a little of that on this album, but once again, by design, we didn’t leave ourselves much time to over think and spend too much time one adding more and more to each song. I love the new songs, but from a purely “studio” standpoint, sonically this is the best sounding album we’ve made. I’m really enjoying giving it the old school headphone listen.
And how long did it take to write the new material and get it all recorded and mixed?
Time wise, from the beginning of writing, to the end of recording it was probably nine weeks. Then the whole process of finding a new record label home began, so the mixing wasn’t immediately urgent. The final mixes were done at the end of last year.
Do you prefer writing music, playing shows or recording new material?
It’s hard to say that any one of those things is better than any of the others. I love all 3. And all for different reasons, but all of them have a great deal to do with why I love my job. But at the end of the day, I guess you can’t really get any better than the feeling of playing live. I mean, that’s where it all started for me. That is why I now actually get to spend weeks at a time doing nothing but writing, then weeks at a time doing nothing but recording those songs that I’ve written…but then, don’t I do those things just so I can get back out on the road and play those songs in front of people? Hmmmm…
Where's the best place you have ever toured and why?
I’m sure people get tired of hearing us say this, but it is honestly the truth. We love touring in the UK the most out of all of the places in the world that we’ve been. The music fans in the UK are so loyal and loving, and really have been one of the biggest reasons that we are able to still have a career that is approaching 17 years.
You're offering fans the opportunity to buy VIP tickets and meet/greet/have a photo with you on the forthcoming tour - why did you
make this decision?
The VIP tickets are a way for us to interact on more of a personal level with our fans. We’re excited that we’re able to offer them. We all get to hang out and mingle a little bit before the show, they get first entry into the venue, and this year the folks at the VIP get to hear the new album at the meet and greet. It’s just a cool opportunity for us to give something a little bit extra.
Recommend us three bands we need to check out.
Air Review – Dallas, TX
The Crash That Took Me – Dallas, TX
The Rescues – LA, CA
And finally, apart from the acoustic tour, are there any other
plans for a Bowling for Soup tour later this year in the UK?
We’ll be back for a full band tour in October. We plan to announce those dates shortly after the acoustic tour.
