Bowling For Soup

L-R : Gary, Erik, Jaret, Chris, all as pirates

 

Bowling for Soup are probably most known in the UK for their Top 10 hit "Girl all the Bad Guys Want", but having released 6 albums in the 9 or so years they've been together, the Texan band have a huge following both in America and Europe. I got the chance to ask front man Jaret Von Erich a few questions about their new single and video, as well as their upcoming UK appearances.

Your new single 'Punk Rock 101' is proving to be a big hit on the music channels over in the UK. Who came up with the 'Punk Rock Boot Camp' concept for the video? What was your favourite part of filming the video?

I thought of it during the recording of the song, it just fit. I originally wanted to have cameos by Blink and Good Charlotte, Simple Plan and such, but schedules didn't fit. I think it is really funny regardless.
It wasn't a very fun video to film, it was a 24 hour shoot, and it was pretty chaotic. The bus scene was pretty fun, but it was so early, I thin, I just wasn't tired yet. The live stuff was shot at 4am, and I was about to kill everyone because I was so tired. It was hard to look energetic, but we made it through.

Where did you find the extras to use in the video, and was it a different experience filming this video compared to your others because of all the extra people?

Yes, it was much different. A lot of the extras were hired actors, which are easy to get for 50 or 100 bucks a day. There was also a large group of radio winners that got to do it and some street team people, it was cool having so many people to talk to, that part was cool.

When will 'Punk Rock 101' be released and how will it be available to fans in the UK? Is this the only new track you've recorded?

No, we recorded three new songs, and they will all be available on the single that comes out August 25, I think everyone will really dig it.

How did the recording of Britney Spears' 'Baby One More Time' for the Freaky Friday Soundtrack come about? Are you big Britney fans?

Well I am a fan of her butt and her rack, she is a hotty, that is for sure, and she is super nice. We got asked to do the song by Disney and they hired us without hearing our version. They really took a chance and the song turned out really good, it is much different than our normal sound, it is really dark and heavy sounding.

You played on the Warped Tour this year, how did it feel playing the main stage in your home State (Texas)? How did the fans react to 'Punk Rock 101'?

It was amazing, I thought the summer had climaxed early, but there were other shows that were just as good. It was nice for the other bands to see our home crowd though, the kids were just amazing, as always. Punk Rock 101 was big, but the BITCH SONG and Girl all the Bad Guys Want are still the big songs, they really went crazy!!!

You're playing the Leeds and Reading festivals over here in August, what has the band got planned after that?

After that we will headline a tour in the US and then we will be in the UK in Mid October for the last tour for this album. We are bringing a band called Never Heard Of It, and our good buddies FARSE will play before us as well, I can't wait. Then we will take some time off and I will write the new record, and then it is new album time early next year!!!!

Thanks a lot to Jaret for taking the time to answer these questions. Check out their official site www.bowlingforsoup.com for more info about the band as well as Jaret's entertaining 'notes from the road' and 'random thoughts'. Make sure you see them when they come to the UK again as their shows are always a great night out.

Originally conducted for www.justwannarock.com