Pop-punk royalty Bowling For Soup brought their Almost Christmas Tour to Southampton on 30th November, in which they kicked off the festive season with some of their own classics mixed with Christmas songs that we know and love, resulting in a night we won’t forget in a hurry. I sat down with guitarist Chris Burney before the show to chat about touring the UK and the band’s friendships with support acts Patent Pending and Not Ur Girlfrenz.
How has the tour been so far?
It’s been good, we’re all a little tired but, you know, we forge on.
So where have you been so far? Edinburgh, Preston…
The first show was Preston, Edinburgh, Bristol, Reading, and now we’re here.
What made you decide to do a Christmas themed tour?
It was kind of a deal so we could come over here and announce that we’re doing Reading and Leeds, and we’ve never been over here around Christmas, so… They say a lot of American bands don’t really tour over here over the holidays so it’s just a good time to do something we’ve never done before.
Yeah, you were recently announced to be playing Reading and Leeds. How are you feeling about that, seeing as they were your first ever shows in the UK?
Right, right, first show, it’s pretty cool. We got spoiled right off the bat.
Do you think you’ll make another Christmas album in the future?
Possibly. We’ve done two already, and yeah, maybe next year, or the year after. Well, this next year I think we’re gonna hit the studio, and do a regular album.
Nice! Do you have a favourite place to tour in the UK?
Pretty much everywhere. Manchester has always been super good to us, I really like going to Scotland, and we don’t go there much but I always love going to Ireland – they get mad at us because we don’t go there. It’s the logistics of going to Ireland while you’re on tour. If you don’t get the night ferry, you’re screwed the next day, so logistically it’s kinda tough. We don’t really take days off, so sorry Ireland!
Tell me about you guys’ relationship with Patent Pending, considering you’ve toured with them before.
We met them in the States, probably about ten years ago? [To Rob Felicetti of Patent Pending] How long has it been?
Rob: Yeah, about ten years ago.
Chris: Yeah and we just went on a lot of adventures together, had some good times, still doing it.
Do you think you’ll ever make another joint album together?
I don’t know yet, I don’t know, that was back during the Get Happy tour-
Rob: I think it was One Big Happy
Chris: One Big Happy, yeah, I don’t know, we’ll see.
So, you were here earlier this year, on the second Get Happy tour. Do you think you’ll be redoing the tour again after another ten years?
Possibly. We’re exploring all this different stuff right now, trying to think about what we’re gonna do, nothing’s set. Nothing’s ever set but we’re going to keep doing a little tour over here.
Are there any other bands that you think our readers should listen to?
Well, of course there’s Patent Pending and Not Ur Girlfrenz. But personal favourites, I’m a metalhead, so listen to Slayer!
What is your relationship with Not Ur Girlfrenz as well, seeing as you’ve toured with them on Warped Tour?
Yes, so Jaret met them at some open-mic I think. I don’t really know the whole story but he’s been managing them and producing them.
You guys will be celebrating your 25th anniversary next year, so what’s the secret to still loving what you do after so many years?
Just having fun, not waking up mad at anybody, you know, you get pissed and you’re like “fuck you, Gary” [in the direction of drummer Gary Wiseman], but the next day you’re like “oh, sorry about the ‘fuck yous’”.
Fair enough! What is your favourite thing about touring in the UK?
Just the joy, I mean our crowds are always so happy, I mean, it’s fun to entertain them and we feed off of that too.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Drink. We drink, that’s really it!
Amazing! So, final question, what constitutes a good show for you? What makes it a success?
I think they’re all good. I mean, I don’t think we ever really have a bad show, sometimes things don’t go right but we always make it work. Like, I got a beer thrown at me last night, was in a bad mood for a couple of songs, but I got it back!
Watch the latest music video from Bowling For Soup, ‘Catalyst’, below.
