It's apparently quite a rare occasion for Bowling For Soup guitarist Chris Burney to do interviews on his own. Female First were privileged, then, to chat to him about touring, the new album and Download Festival.
-How has the reaction been for Fishin' For Woos?
So far it's been good. It's the first record that we've released on our own.
After years of being on a record label we're finally able to do our own thing now, so that's kinda scary. You're financing it, and everything. It's going well. We've already recouped on it to make maybe a few dollars.
-Is it good getting that extra control by releasing it yourselves?
Yeah, absolutely. Every time you release a record or single, there's always this hoard of people murmuring. You can have all the suggestions you want, and they're ultimate going to do what they want to do.
That's how it works. Bands always say 'We have so much control' - no you don't! You really don't. They're going to do what they want to do, because they've got the dough.
-Has the writing process been different this time round?
A little bit yeah. We did it fast. There were no people sat back there ringing their hands.
It was pretty mellow and easy. It was crazy, we spent two weeks on it. We wanted to just go in there and do it.
-You tour pretty extensively, as well as regularly putting out albums. Do you enjoy one side of your music ahead of the other?
I'm more into the live aspect of it. Touring and going around meeting different people, travelling, it's what I like to do.
-Is there a difference between crowds over here, compared to back in the States?
Oh yeah, definitely. Over here music is more of a live event. In the States you have your pockets of people that love live music but for the most part you have to beg people to go and see your shows.
You have to do a lot of radio. If you don't do radio, no-one turns up to your shows. Here, it doesn't mean s***. People still come and see you regardless of if you're on the radio, just because they're fans.
There's still more press over here. In the United States there's Rolling Stone magazine, and that's pretty much it. Kids don't read magazines.
Over here there's press, over there there's not. You maybe have some high school girl's project for a class, and that's about it.
-As your tours, including your acoustic tours, have shown there's a huge fan base. Are you pleased that after all these years that's still there?
Absolutely, still kicking! We never expected to ever come over here and do well. It's been a good ride, and it's cool that we have longevity over here.
It's something I never expected over here. We're from the United States where you have to constantly have something on the radio or have a hit. Here, we just say 'we're gonna tour again!'
-Does it get tiresome having to play the big hits every night?
No, not really. We all have a few songs that we're sick of here and there. For the most part, it's just a pleasure to be up there and play them.
-You've recorded a few versions of your song 'Belgium', but not on the new album?
We just decided we should let that rest a bit, maybe do it again in a couple of years on a new album. We'll see.
-Do you have a favourite version?
I kinda like the R 'n B version, it's my favourite.
-What was the music scene like in Texas when you were starting out?
When we started out it was kinda a battle of the bands type thing going on. Back where we're from I used to run a coffee shop, and we'd have bands in there.
We don't want bands to not like each other because they're rivals. Back then it was like that. We kinda changed that because it's good for all bands to get together and play shows together, not compete with each other.
That's one thing that's different over here. People can like Slipknot and enjoy Robbie Williams. In the United States it's like 'I like one certain genre of punk rock'.
F*** you! Just enjoy music, you d***! There's a saying that some people write on bathroom walls and I think it's awesome. I just says "Listen to Otis Reading, kid".
-You've become semi-regulars at Download, with this being your fourth appearance. Was that a surprise?
It was. Our first show here, we were so drunk we could hardly stand up. It was terrible, but I think we've become comic relief here somewhat. I think it's awesome.
That first show we thought they were gonna hate us from now on. We read the press from it, and they were like "They were fucking hilarious! They were hammered! Chris mooned the crowd!" Awesome, okay, we'll do it again!
-Some sceptics label Bowling For Soup as a joke band. Does that get frustrating?
Well...we're funny, we're comedic. As far as a joke band...I don't think we're a joke, but we like jokes! It's part of who we are, I guess.
-11 years together is a long time for any band, so are you still enjoying it and still close friends?
Absolutely, we're still best buddies. We're yet to kill each other.
-Are you having to slow down on the road?
We have in the States, definitely. We slowed down because the radio in the States hasn't been there. We tour sporadically in the US now, but over here we still come back as regularly as we can.
-With the songwriting process for the band, there seems to be a lot of collaborations with other writers. What is the whole process, is there a reason behind it?
Over the years, Jaret's met a lot of people touring and song-writing. It gives it a lot more variety.
We usually have about 30 songs or so for an album. You get to weed them out, and it's a lot easier when it comes to picking songs for the record.
-Is there a different mentality going into a show of this size, compared to your own headline shows?
Not really. We still go up there and do our show.
-What can fans expect from Bowling For Soup for the rest of 2011?
Well, we'll be back in the UK in October with Suburban Legends and Orange. Hopefully do some more stuff.
We're trying to get into the studio to do some more Christmas songs, because that's always fun.
Still gonna play shows. We've got some stuff for the US Military coming up, which is always fun. We get to go exotic places.
-Where's the best place you've been able to go?
In July we're going to Guam, we're looking forward to that. We've been to Sicily and Naples. We've done a lot of US Military stuff which is always a lot of fun, because they just wanna get drunk and have a good time. We're for that!
-Are there any plans for a follow-up for Fishin' For Woos, or is it more of a cycle of album, touring, album?
We just wait until the cycle runs its course and then worry about it. It's not worth it to sit there and worry about when you're going to do your next album.
Let the cycle run its course, then do another one. That's the way we've always done it.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
It's apparently quite a rare occasion for Bowling For Soup guitarist Chris Burney to do interviews on his own. Female First were privileged, then, to chat to him about touring, the new album and Download Festival.
-How has the reaction been for Fishin' For Woos?
So far it's been good. It's the first record that we've released on our own.
After years of being on a record label we're finally able to do our own thing now, so that's kinda scary. You're financing it, and everything. It's going well. We've already recouped on it to make maybe a few dollars.
-Is it good getting that extra control by releasing it yourselves?
Yeah, absolutely. Every time you release a record or single, there's always this hoard of people murmuring. You can have all the suggestions you want, and they're ultimate going to do what they want to do.
That's how it works. Bands always say 'We have so much control' - no you don't! You really don't. They're going to do what they want to do, because they've got the dough.
-Has the writing process been different this time round?
A little bit yeah. We did it fast. There were no people sat back there ringing their hands.
It was pretty mellow and easy. It was crazy, we spent two weeks on it. We wanted to just go in there and do it.
-You tour pretty extensively, as well as regularly putting out albums. Do you enjoy one side of your music ahead of the other?
I'm more into the live aspect of it. Touring and going around meeting different people, travelling, it's what I like to do.
-Is there a difference between crowds over here, compared to back in the States?
Oh yeah, definitely. Over here music is more of a live event. In the States you have your pockets of people that love live music but for the most part you have to beg people to go and see your shows.
You have to do a lot of radio. If you don't do radio, no-one turns up to your shows. Here, it doesn't mean s***. People still come and see you regardless of if you're on the radio, just because they're fans.
There's still more press over here. In the United States there's Rolling Stone magazine, and that's pretty much it. Kids don't read magazines.
Over here there's press, over there there's not. You maybe have some high school girl's project for a class, and that's about it.
-As your tours, including your acoustic tours, have shown there's a huge fan base. Are you pleased that after all these years that's still there?
Absolutely, still kicking! We never expected to ever come over here and do well. It's been a good ride, and it's cool that we have longevity over here.
It's something I never expected over here. We're from the United States where you have to constantly have something on the radio or have a hit. Here, we just say 'we're gonna tour again!'
-Does it get tiresome having to play the big hits every night?
No, not really. We all have a few songs that we're sick of here and there. For the most part, it's just a pleasure to be up there and play them.
-You've recorded a few versions of your song 'Belgium', but not on the new album?
We just decided we should let that rest a bit, maybe do it again in a couple of years on a new album. We'll see.
-Do you have a favourite version?
I kinda like the R 'n B version, it's my favourite.
-What was the music scene like in Texas when you were starting out?
When we started out it was kinda a battle of the bands type thing going on. Back where we're from I used to run a coffee shop, and we'd have bands in there.
We don't want bands to not like each other because they're rivals. Back then it was like that. We kinda changed that because it's good for all bands to get together and play shows together, not compete with each other.
That's one thing that's different over here. People can like Slipknot and enjoy Robbie Williams. In the United States it's like 'I like one certain genre of punk rock'.
F*** you! Just enjoy music, you d***! There's a saying that some people write on bathroom walls and I think it's awesome. I just says "Listen to Otis Reading, kid".
Tagged in Download Festival Bowling For Soup