Bouncing Souls Interview (November 2007)

This interview was done on November 11, 2007 right before the band's soundcheck at the Double Door. I managed to actually get kicked out of the show for stage diving even though I helped set the damn thing up. This is a pretty good interview if a little dated by now.

Bill: Are you guys doing anything special for your 20th anniversary of the band? Are those the holiday shows you're doing coming up?

Greg: I think that's like the eighteenth or nineteenth anniversary this Christmas.

Pete: Yeah, yeah, that's right

Greg: So we'll see, we've actually been talking about what we're going to do for the twentieth anniversary

Pete: Technically we didn't really start until ‘89, so our twentieth anniversary is in two years.

Greg: We did play together in 1987.

Brian: We wrote our first original song in ’87.

Greg: December of ‘87 was the first time the original members played together but we didn't REALLY get kicking until ‘89.

Brian: The Steinkopf calendar begins in 89.

Pete: Well there's no... the Keinlen calendar begins in 87!

Greg: See? You opened a can of worms (laughter)

Pete: The name The Bouncing Souls came up in ‘89 so that's when we actually started playing together.

Greg: Exactly!

Brian: That should really officially be our...

Bill: So ‘89?

Pete: Yeah, ‘89.

Bill: Alright

Pete: And we've been talking about what were going to do for that, so we're not quite sure yet.

Bill: Not sure yet?

Pete: We have a couple of ideas up our sleeves

Bill: Well I saw the holiday show listing on punknews saying "oh, you're practicing all kinds of songs you haven't done in awhile" and I thought maybe that was it.

Brian: We just did something for our holiday show today actually, it's pretty funny. We got this idea, that for everyone that goes the holiday, our Home for the Holidays shows, we thought we should make it more special, and, so everyone's going to get a gift at the door.

Bill: Cool.

Brian: We started out with a candy cane, and then we thought "oh, well maybe we'll make a red and green Bouncing Souls pin with the date, you know? Then we're like, we gotta have a Christmas card, some kind of holiday card. It's gotta be one of those cheesy ones, like, you know where you get those cheesy family portraits you get at Sears?

Bill: Of course.

Brian: So we're like, let's go get a cheesy family portrait with Christmas clothing. So we went to this mall in town, and like, bought these cheesy turtlenecks, red and white turtlenecks with like...

Michael: MINE WAS BABY BLUE!

Brian: Yeah, McDermott had a baby blue vest. I don't know, we dressed up in these really cheesy clothes, went and got the Sears portrait kind of thing. Then we went and returned all the clothes, it was pretty funny. So we're planning, we're planning stuff

Michael: We considering all of our turtlenecks were WOMEN'S TURTLENECKS, we went to the men's department, NO Christmas shit out yet! So we went to the women's section and they had all the stuff.

Brian: They had little sequins on them.

Pete: They had um, an ice skating penguin on the neck, which is cool.

Michael: We all love that.

Bill: With the songs you're practicing, this is a special request from one of my friends, any chance of "Shark Attack?"

Greg: Tonight?

Bill: Just at any time in the future.

Brian: It's funny you should mention that.

Bill: I was forced to ask that.

Brian: This cat's out of the bag anyway. For um, the holiday shows we're playing, um, alright, we did something on myspace, we had everybody vote. Out of all of our songs the top four are the ones that are going to be on our myspace profile. I guess everybody voted, and we have a top forty, we have a list of the most popular songs, down to number forty. So we're playing those three days in a row at the Stone Pony; two of the days we're going to do the countdown, forty to one. So we're going to play sixty totally different songs over three days. You know what I'm saying?

Bill: Yeah

Brian: So "Shark Attack" won, so we have to play "Shark Attack" one of those days

Bill: Score

Michael: Do we have sixty songs?

Greg: We have more than that dude, we have a lot more than that.

Pete: Yeah, we have more than that.

Michael: We're at fifty five. No, fifty seven!

Brian: So yeah, we're going to play number forty down to twenty one, and then twenty down to one. And then the third day, well, I guess it's the first day, we're going to play twenty other songs that didn't get voted. So there will be sixty different songs, and "Shark Attack" will be performed live for the first time ever. It's one of 'em.

Bill: Shit, I need to get to New Jersey then.

Brian: It's the only way you're ever going to see "Shark Attack."

Bill: You're playing the Bosstones show, right? I saw that listed, are you guys excited about that?

Brian: Yeah.

Pete: Yeah, it'll be cool.

Greg: Yeah, it should be a lot of fun. For many years we were invited, but we never got to do the Hometown Throwdown, so now this will be kind of extra special, because it's the reunion, and it’s the Hometown Throwdown.

Michael: I think this is the best year to do it quite honestly.

Greg: Exactly! It works out really good that way.

Pete: And we're playing the first show, so it'll be the first time the Bosstones have played...

Greg: Ooooh yeah

Bill: Yeah, five years.

Michael: That's a big show.

Brian: The Bosstones show?

Pete: You know who's opening up?

Michael: Nope

Pete: Sweeney's band

Michael: NO WAY

Brian: Yeah, Everybody Out. Cool band.

Pete: And Rick, the old guitar player, uh…

Bill: From Dropkick.

Pete: Yeah, Rick Barton.

Bill: How did you get hooked up with Max Weinberg? I saw some YouTube videos...

Michael: Because his kid loves our band!

Bill: Really?

Brian: Yeah, Jay Weinberg.

Michael: Jay Weinberg, very nice kid, and he just started coming to the shows. Like, he was backstage at Bamboozle and he had this t-shirt that was all drawn on, and the kid wrote all the song names on one t-shirt with a Sharpie marker. So we were like "Wow, who is this kid?" And he came in and said "My dad you know, he used to play drums for Bruce" and this was years ago when (Max) wasn't playing with Bruce, like, that lineup wasn't really working. And then we were like "Oh yeah?! Who's your dad? Ha ha." You know, like "sure kid." And he's like "Yeah, Max Weinberg" and it was like "So you're Jay Weinberg?" So yeah, just like that.

Brian: Max is a cool dude.

Michael: Yeah man, we went to his house, he played a tune with us. "Growing Up."

Brian: Yeah, he sat in with us on drums when we played our Bruce Springsteen cover. Hey that's something we could play tonight.

(pause)

Brian: Come on, you guys always say no to "Growing Up."

Michael: I didn't say no.

Greg: We could. Let's practice it at sound check.

Pete: No one ever says no to "Growing Up."

Greg: Sometimes I say no.

Brian: Well come on, I know that, because I ask about it.

Michael: We're definitely going to have to have a real sound check today.

Brian: Let's practice "Growing Up!" It's a cool song!

Michael: I'm backing it!

Pete: We need to practice it though. Totally. We need to practice a lot of stuff

Michael: OK buddy, next question!

Bill: Ha, alright, uh...

Michael: We're just talking amongst ourselves, sorry.

Bill: Band discussion, I understand. Have you started working on new material yet since The Gold Record? And are you going to be doing it the same way? I know you all lived in the house together for that one.

Greg: No, we're doing everything different.

Brian: Everything different.

Greg: We don't know how it's going to be yet but we're doing it totally different.

Bill: Alright

(pause. Laughter)

Michael: He just said that last night.

Greg: We're not sure how it's going to be different. That's why life is great, because we can do everything different.

Brian: Change change change. Change is good.

Bill: Damn straight. Are you going to be doing any stuff with the 2008 election? I know you guys did stuff with PunkVoter in 2004.

Greg: Maybe, we haven't talk about it yet. I haven't thought about it yet.

Bill: Hasn't come up yet?

Greg: It's a good subject to bring up and actually talk about. Maybe? Maybe.

Michael: WHO ARE YOU BACKING BUDDY!?

Bill: Good question. I’m not sure yet.

Michael: Just say Hillary. Just say fuckin’ Hillary. (everyone laughs) If you’re not backing Hillary, seriously, you gotta quit the band right now.

Greg: I’m not backing Hillary.

Michael: You quit, I’ll quit too.

Pete: I’ll back anyone

Greg: Did you see the debate?

Michael: I didn’t.

Greg: I kind of was backing her a little bit until I watched that debate.

Michael: Really?

Greg: She was like, not answering the questions, very roundabout, like, not getting anywhere.

Pete: What about Barack Obama?

Michael: But they’re all like that. Did you see Giuliani? “DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER NINE ONE ONE!”

Brian: Yeah, that Giuliani I could do without. I didn’t like him as my mayor.

Greg: Ok, so you figure out who you’re going to vote for and we’ll go to the next question.

Bill: Ok, we’ve got some time.

Brian: What about Barrack Obama? Is he going to be a Barrack O-bumout?

Greg: Oooh. Or a Barrack O-bummer. Barrack O-bumout?

Pete: Just go ahead.

Bill: Ha, alright, I don’t have too much more.

Michael: This is a great interview, why have we not done every interview like this? Just shouting at each other from across the room,

Greg: You don’t like Hillary Clinton, I quit!

Bill: That’s going to be the headline of the article. McDermott quits!

Michael: Seriously, we should do this from now on. This is one of the new changes in The Bouncing Souls.

Greg: We’ll all threaten to quit and it’ll come out in the interview, we all threaten to quit.

Pete: We’ll only do interviews if there are four couches on opposite sides of the room.

Michael: Dude, there’s two of us, there’s two of us that threaten to quit all the time, and I’m won’t tell you which two of us, but there’s two of us who are every now and then like “WAH WAH WE SUCK OUR THUMBS” but I’m not going to tell you which two.

Bill: Well you just said we, so you incriminated yourself.

Greg: Well I think it’s weird that the other two have never threatened to quit.

Michael: WE? WE? WE? Yeah, I’m one of ‘em but I won’t tell you the other one.

Greg: They’ve never threatened to quit and I’m like “Why have they never threatened to quit?”

Pete: This is what I was born to do baby. Born to rock

Brian: BORN TO ROCK!

Michael: Dude, that’s a great Gang Green song. Have you ever heard that, “Born to Rock?” It has a great bass line.

Bill: Early Gang Green or late Gang Green?

Pete: It’s no “Born To Lose.”

Michael: It’s great! Double bass!

Bill: Oh, so it’s late then. Ummmmm.

Michael: No, its good man, Gittleman’s still in the band, it’s a great lineup. They had Chris what’s his face drumming, the left handed guy. Do you know that? (hums the bass line to “Born To Rock”)

(knock on the door)

Pete: Soundcheck?

Michael: (laughter)

Bill: Alright, thanks a lot, this should be fun to transcribe.