Bowling for Soup

Bowling for Soup Artistfacts

  • 1994-
    Jaret ReddickVocals, guitar1994-
    Lance MorrillDrums1994-1998
    Erik ChandlerBass1994-2019
    Chris BurneyGuitar1994-2025
    Gary WisemanDrums1998-
    Rob FelicettiBass2019-
  • Bowling for Soup formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. Their name was lifted from a Steve Martin comedy routine called "Bowling for S--t," from his 1978 album Wild and Crazy Guy. They opted for "Soup" as the more family-friendly alternative, and the name stuck largely because they couldn't agree on anything better.
  • Frontman Jaret Reddick didn't originally plan on a life of Warped Tour buses and ironic love songs. He wanted to be a corporate psychologist.

    "I wanted to work in a big corporation and do their counseling on subjects like PTSD and addiction," he told Kerrang!. "That was my goal after university. Bowling for Soup started as I was finishing up with school, and I just wanted to use it to take a few years off and not have loads of responsibility."
  • Jaret Reddick told Songfacts about his songwriting philosophy: "Whenever I sit down to write, my objective is to make someone feel good, or to make them smile. And that is the way that I've always been. Especially in Bowling for Soup, that is full-on my absolute goal – I want to make people happy."
  • Their biggest hit, "1985," was originally recorded by SR-71. Bowling for Soup's version, including several lyric tweaks, became the definitive one, turning suburban nostalgia into a sing-along anthem.
  • They wrote and performed the theme song for Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb, introducing a whole new generation to their sound. Jaret Reddick provided the voice of Danny from Love Händel and the band's cartoon likenesses appeared in the episode "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo."
  • While many American pop-punk bands found modest UK success, Bowling for Soup built a particularly loyal British following. Songs like "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" and "High School Never Ends" became staples of early-2000s UK rock radio and festival circuits.
  • "Girl All The Bad Guys Want" was Jaret Reddick's first ever co-write. He composed it with producer Butch Walker in just 30 minutes.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."