Bouncing Souls are not in the habit of planning for the future. Summed up simply by bassist Bryan Kienlen, "We've never been huge future-planners. We just sort of go through life and do what we want, do what we feel."
Still, this disdain for looking forward has not stopped Kienlen and his bandmates from reflecting on the band's past. This year Bouncing Souls celebrates its twenty year anniversary, no small feat for any band, let alone one that hates to plan. With all of those years under their collective punk rock belts, the proud sons of the skateboarding side of the Jersey shore are showing no signs of slowing down.
And even if they were, they certainly have not made any plans for doing so.
Bouncing Souls came together in the early 1990's as friends attending Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, a small town in central New Jersey. Along with Kienlen, there was vocalist Greg Attonito and guitarist Pete Steinkopf. Current drummer Michael McDermott joined the band in 2000, the last lineup change they have gone through.
"We didn't have a giant priority about starting a band," Kienlen said from his home at the Jersey shore. As we talk, he waters a couple Jersey tomatoes he is growing on his deck. "Our big priority was having fun. One thing led to another; started learning songs, playing covers and playing parties. We're pretty much the same high school party band we started out as."
When it came time to release an album, the Souls decided to start their own record label. The band founded Chunksaah Records in 1992, naming it in tribute to a friend who lent them the money they needed to release the album. "We just wanted to get our music out." Kienlen said. "That's the plain and simple story behind it."
Though they are still on Chunksaah and the label currently operates out of Asbury Park, Kienlen admits the band is not as involved in the day-to-day operations as they used to be. According to Kienlen, he and his bandmates aren't the greatest businessmen. "I couldn't give you a ten year plan for Chunksaah Records," Kienlen said. "I have no idea."
In 1996, after scores of house parties and sweaty basement shows, Bouncing Souls signed with Epitaph Records, the LA-based punk label home to other punk icons like Bad Religion and Social Distortion.
The band released five records on Epitaph, ending with 2006's The Gold Record. After that release, the band decided to go back to its do-it-yourself roots. Since then they have released four EP's and one full length, Ghosts on the Boardwalk.
This summer, Bouncing Souls are marking their twentieth anniversary with the ambitious All the Unheard Tour. The idea is an extension of the band's annual Home for the Holidays residency at the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park during which they play all eight of their albums in four consecutive nights.
Despite a snowstorm forcing the band to postpone last winter's shows for almost two months, the residencies have been a great success. Inspired by their popularity, Bouncing Souls decided to take their idea on the road. The tour visits eight cities for four nights in a row, and like Home for the Holidays, the band performs two of their records each night.
The fan response, according to Kienlen, has been great. Each night finds the Bouncing Souls reaching different kinds of fans on different nights. "Our catalog spans such a broad range of years, a lot of people have a particular record that is special to them." Kienlen said. "Because that's when they and their friends were going to shows."
The group's fans are a diverse bunch and not easily described by Kienlen (even if he wasn't distracted by his Jersey Tomatoes: "the best in the world!") This is largely a byproduct of the band's lengthy career. The Bouncing Souls have not changed their sound, their style or their way of doing business, something Kienlen said that their fans positively respond to.
"I believe our fans appreciate the way we do things as much as the things we do." Kienlen said. "In other words, we don't get up there and preach politics. But the way we conduct our lives and the band as a business, I think sort of is a political statement in and of itself."
Kienlen believes the Souls' fans also respond to their lyrics. "We write from the heart," Kienlen said. "It strikes a common chord with people."
The tour has had a positive affect on the members themselves, giving them the chance to look back on what has made the Bouncing Souls the band they are today. "It's been a lot of fun." Kienlen said. "We're in the process right now of writing a new record so it also helps us, giving us a lot of perspective on the Bouncing Souls."
Bouncing Souls have taken the road less traveled since the get-go, bucking radio play and MTV. Back in the mid 90's, MTV was changing the way fans looked at punk rock and, in turn, altering the motives for those looking to start punk bands.
The music channel was out on the prowl and looking for new talent. It was one of the first times that you could be a punk rocker and also be a rock star, something that was rarely true before or since.
But Bouncing Souls would have no part of it. They weren't looking for fame or money, the things MTV was offering bands in bunches. They were old-school in that respect, having the audacity to play punk music because it's fun, not as a means to make money.
"I think that Bouncing Souls' fans appreciate some of our D.I.Y. ethic; our steadfastness to some of the true values of punk rock." Kienlen said.
After wrapping up their All the Unheard Tour, Bouncing Souls are heading to Europe for a handful of shows before returning back to the friendly confines of their hometown to get back to work on the new record. Kienlen said the hope is to have it done and ready for release next spring. As for the future, the band has nothing planned.
For the Bouncing Souls there is the moment they are in, the stage they are on, the song they are ripping through and the road they are traveling. They don't do plans, only punk. It's worked for twenty years. It'll probably work for twenty more.
