20 Years & Still Bouncing…

The Bouncing Souls frontman Greg Antonito gives you a look on how they've maintained longevity and embraced the new digital revolution as they approach their 20 th anniversary

If you've been a true fan of the punk rock movement, you've more than likely have heard of the sound and influence of The Bouncing Souls. Since their start in 1987, they have built a strong grassroots following and a legacy that spans two decades. Originally from New Brunswick, New Jersey, Bouncing Souls laid the groundwork for the rise of punk mainstream bands such as Green Day and My Chemical Romance. From their first full length album debuting on their own record label to currently releasing their 20 th anniversary album independently through their own website, Souls singer Greg Attonitio explains why being innovative in the music industry is the key to longevity.

How does it feel to be celebrating your 20 th anniversary?
It's pretty amazing. We made it through a couple of wars and we've made it out alive.

So for your 20 th Anniversary, you guys will be releasing a song every month this year and also every three months you will put out a 7" vinyl, which includes bonus tracks. How did you come up with this marketing concept?
Well as you know we've been putting out music for many years. We just wanted to do something different for ourselves because the way we present ourselves in the music business now is as important as the music itself. It kind of always was but it's even more competitive now because of technology. So why would we just do the same old thing? Who cares? You put out a CD and people see it for a minute and than they forget. Then it's two months later and they're like, so where's the new stuff? Do you realize how long it takes to write and record twelve songs?

So the idea was that's where we started from so who cares if we put out a regular CD. We don't care; we're bored doing the same thing a million times. Let's make it fun! So I think the first conversations were, ‘What if we do TV episodes and put stuff out like that?' We kicked that around and than we had been on a label for a bunch of years called Epitaph, and now our contract was up with them. So we were going to decide to put out the music ourselves again which we started out doing. So that combined with ok maybe a digital download through our own website. Then the 20-year thing popped up in someone's head and all of a sudden, there it is…a 20-year anniversary all year long party!

I really like the new single "Gasoline." It's really free and powerful. How did that song come about?
The lyrics came this summer. It was like a deep statement as far as the consciousness of our society and the world today. The extreme indulgence, the blind unconscious action. That seems to be going on everywhere. Acknowledging that in myself as well, seeing how much I've grown in my life. It seems like when I was a kid, all the things that I was taught are a lie. You learn through experience, and there are a whole lot of ways that you're taught to live that are kind of a lie in a lot of ways. As opposed to seeking the truth about who you really are. So the words just started becoming kind of darker than the stuff that we usually hit upon. I was stoked about it and everybody else was too.

What was the creative process of the new songs versus the previous records?
Well we worked with a producer whose name is Ted Hut. He also worked with us on our last CD, which is great, but what we did differently was we did a whole bunch of different sessions, which was a lot of fun. It hasn't been as much pressure as it usually is when you are against the time constraints. Like, ‘We need to have twelve songs done by the end of X amount of weeks.' And you're killing yourselves and you're up all night. So it really takes away the joy of a lot of it sometimes when you can't infuse into the music. This way we're much more relaxed. It's like we have fifteen tunes and we're gonna put the drums down, put the bass down and let's focus on six. After we finish six, then we can go back in April and finish the next six.

You've guys have had a lot of vinyl releases. Do you prefer that style over CD and mp3s?
Well the thing is vinyl for a while totally died. Now vinyl totally makes sense to me. It's coming back because everyone's buying digitally because it's so easy. You don't even have to move out of your chair. But I think people really want to have a piece of something in their hand that's really cool. So they're only going to buy something that they really love in the store or at a show, and that's vinyl. Now the vinyl plants are opening up again when there was only one for a little while. I think it was around early 2001, there was only one plant in America that was making vinyl. Now they're all popping up.

Do you feel that the Internet has helped with the longevity of your music and connecting with the fans?
Absolutely! I mean we used to go on tour and collect people's mailing addresses in our address book. We would come home with a messed up notebook, and we would have to organize it, which we rarely ever did. We would have all these papers and it's just like archaic now when you think about it,but that was only a few years ago. Now I go on the Internet and I talk to everyone right away. You're not waiting, like, "I'm gonna see you when I come back to Denver or I'm never gonna see you or talk to you again." It's a whole different world.

Is there any information you can tell them about the upcoming international tour?
Yea. We've been working on going to South America for a few years now, but it just hasn't panned out, so we're leaving Thursday and we're doing Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and that's about it. I'm really looking forward to it, and there are some people down there that have really wanted to see us for years, and we've gotten all of these messages. They're really, really excited. I think it's gonna be fun to go out after having not gone out for so long.

Are there any other performances outside of the tour that fans should be on the lookout for?
Yea, I'm doing an acoustic tour on the East Coast in April with Vick from the Slackers who is an amazing musician and Shanti who's also an amazing, talented artist. We're playing at the Knitting factory in New York, we're going to Boston and it's about week and half on the East Coast in April.

Do you feel it was an advantage coming from New Brunswick, New Jersey and building a fan base there rather than creating a buzz in New York or LA?
Yea, it was a great place to learn how things work. It was a college town, it was close to New York and Philly. We would go to Baltimore and DC. It was really a great place to be a band and meet musicians. We played with all different types of musicians in New Brunswick: jazz artists, Reggae musicians. We were a Reggae backup band a couple of times. We learned so much doing that. So, yea, it was a great place for us but like everything, there comes a time when you have to go move on and do different things.

Was there any particular song, performance or any experience that made you really feel like "Wow we've made it in this industry?"
Well…it's tough to say. I mean the most rewarding as far as the industry side I would have to say was touring with Green Day in England. We played at Wimbley Arena, and we played at Buddha Khan and Tokyo. Those kinds of places are like the ultimate dream. Japanese people and some musicians go their entire lives wishing they could play the Buddha Kahn, you know. Places like that, that are these massive huge places.

Your first full-length album came out on your own label in 1994, which very few bands did around that time. Is it surprising to you that a lot of artists out now are trying to use that same strategy with their music?
Well I think that it makes perfect sense. The more that time goes by there will be more examples of people who have done that. It works! In the music industry now more than ever, they don't really know what's going on, you know? There used to be a template : you put out a record, you send it to the stores, they put up the posters, they put the marketing out and people walk into the store, and they see where it is. Now that doesn't exist anymore. It's just the Internet and it's like, "How can we get people to see us on the Internet?" That's the game now. It really levels the playing field for all musicians, and all the power is not in the labels hands anymore which is great for musicians.

As we know the music industry, is going through a hard time right now. How has that affected your view or mindset as to where the industry is headed?
Yea, the last couple of years have been pretty tough. I've definitely been discouraged at times. Like not knowing where to go anymore. Where do we go with this…on tour? We just go on tour, but it's feels like we're going backwards in a sense somehow. I couldn't describe it. Now with the 20-year thing and doing the digital downloads, it's embracing an idea with technology and jumping right in. It's been a surge of encouragement as a group. It's a challenge for musicians. We have a whole lot more tools now so it's up to us to make them work for us.

Just looking back at your 20 years, what advice would you give to other up and coming bands in today's music business?
Figure out what you love doing with the music as far as making it, performing it and supporting it. If you enjoy all of those aspects, then go for it. It's a constant 24-hour job. You have to wanna do it. You have to be motivated and love what you're doing. Don't plan on making a whole ton of money. I'm not saying that's not possible, but 98% of the musicians in the world don't make a whole lot of money. If they make a living than that's a huge success.

So you have to enjoy every aspect and just don't expect anything. I mean, when we started out, there were no punk bands that were making any money. So it was like we never really had a dream of … it's so much of a dream because back in the 80's, there wasn't as broad of a spectrum of music as there is now. There were always other people that weren't making as much money, but the top-level artists are the only ones really making a whole lot of money. There's so many that are working hard and struggling

How does it feel to hear the different bands that have been influenced by your style?
Amazing! It's amazing. Some of our friends who are in one of the biggest rock bands in the world is My Chemical Romance. They're like our brothers. They grew up going to our shows. It's just so cool, they were the ones who brought us to play at the Buddha Kahn.

It was such a great thing, and such a treat for them as friends to share in their success in that way. It was a real family thing, so it was really, really cool to be a part of that. You see that you have your own success on a certain level, which is great, and you can share in that next couple levels of successes too. You see that it's all kind of the same thing. What it comes down to is performing music for people. Whether it's three, four, or eight thousand in Tokyo.

Are there any new bands that you are listening to at the moment?
I just always keep digging back into the blues. I've been watching this DVD Box set. It's Martin Scoresese and these different directors that did these documentaries on blues. It's so much amazing stuff, it inspires me and makes me wanna pick up my guitar and play. As far as new music, the Gaslight Anthem is a great rock band that just put out a new record that is doing really well.

Could there possibly be future collaborations with any of these artists or artists in general?
There's always stuff kicking around. I guess the most recent things is the tour with Vick from the Slackers and Shanti…doing some more acoustic stuff. But nobody definetly at the moment.

We talked about Chunksaah Records a little earlier. Is there anything else we should be looking out for from the label?
We will be releasing a 20-year box set. Hopefully by the end of the year it will be done. So look out for that.

I read somewhere that the name Bouncing Souls came from the reference to the Doc Martens shoes. Was there ever any talk of sponsrships or endorsements from the company?
No, I think we made a couple of attempts, and we threw a line out a few times and wrote them. We really didn't get much of a response. We thought it would have been a pretty good idea.

In these past 20 years, is there anything in particular career-wise that you sometimes just sit back and think "Man, if I could go back and do that over again, I would"?
No I don't think so. I think, whatever we did, one time was good. I definetly think I'm getting more into improving on my musicianship. That's like my main priority right now. I feel like the songwriting and performing aspects and connecting live is what I've been doing for so long. I'm happy for those times because now I appreciate them.

How has your personal life changed from when you first started to today?
Wow so much! I'm married. I've been through rocky rleationships with my marriage in the past seven years because of my career. It's been an incredible experience, and I'm so happy that we are still together because it wasn't easy. Her name is, well, she's Shanti. So she's an incredible artist and musician and without sharing that I think that we probably wouldn't have been able to make our marriage work. Just experiencing so much, traveling the world, broadening my understanding of people and the world itself. Being an American, we are brought up in a bubble in a lot of ways . Not just even being an American but everyone who is brought up in their area. If you are not exposed to different things, people and different ways of life and living then you really are cheating yourself because you're not experiencing life to a bigger degree.

Ok so finally, if you had to pick an album or a song that would sum up what The Bouncing Souls are all about to the new fans, what would it be?
Wow, that's a tough one. In just mentioning that…it's funny when we talk to people, because people argue about their favorite Bouncing Souls record. It's really cool because there isn't one that stands out. I think that is a positive thing. They'll say, "…no Hopeless Romantic is the best," and someone else will say, "…no way, Summer Vacation is the best." It's funny how they get passionate about it. So it's a tough one because in our early days we were a little rawer. Now our songwriting is a little better and everything is a little more mature. Which is good. It just depends on what you like.

I think I have to go with the new stuff. Then if people like the new stuff they can go back and see how we got there, you know. The new songs, "The Gold Record" and "Summer Vacation." And if you're into it, you might want to spend time digging into everything else. - Walter J. Tucker