Ballyhoo! was first formed in 1995 by guitarist and vocalist Howi Spangler, drummer Donal Spangler, and bassist Josh Farley. Despite having been together since the mid 90s, the band didn’t release any material until 2000 with their EP, “365- Day Weekend” followed by “The Green” EP in 2004. Additionally they had added keyboardist Scott Vandry and had J.R Gregory replace as bassist. Their first full-length album was released in 2006, and just like the previous two albums had been self- released.
The band went on to sign a deal with LAW Records and released “Daydream” in September 2011. “Last Night,” a single from “Daydream” got airplay through various alternative radio stations such as WHFS Baltimore, WRFF Philadelphia, KUKQ Phoenix, Star 101.9 Honolulu, and SiriusXM/Faction, as well as various specialty shows around the country. 2011 also saw Ballyhoo! touring and making appearance at a number of festivals such as the 311 Pow Wow Festival. They also took part of the Vans Warped Tour in 2012 as well as The Bamboozle (also in 2012).
Ballyhoo then started their own label called Right Coast Records and released their fifth album, “Pineapple Grenade” in 2013. Their music has appeared in numerous surf/skate videos and compilation albums including “Forever Free: A Tribute to Sublime.” In 2014 Ballyhoo! released “The Cool Down: Vol 1.”
The seeds of what would blossom into the band Bowling for Soup were sewn when lead singer and principal songwriter Jaret Reddick met guitarist Chris Burney in their small town high school. The two friends grew up in the 80s listening to glam ridden metal acts like Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, and Ratt; however the two also reserved a certain respect for straightforward punk groups like the Ramones and Greenday.
Before forming Bowling for Soup, Burney operated a local coffee shop called the Refuge that housed a concert stage on which his band The Persecuted would often play. Future bandmates of Bowling For Soup, bassist Erik Chandler and drummer Gary Wiseman frequented the Refuge and eventually formed a friendship with Burney and Reddick. All the members where in different bands at the time such as the Folkadots, Gary & the Wiseman, Slaw, Terminal Seasons, and coolfork!.
It was not until the formation of Rubberneck that the initial stages of Bowling for Soup would really take form. Rubberneck consisted of Reddick, Burney, Chandler, and Lance Morrill. In 1994 the quartet changed their name to Bowling for Soup (a reference to a Steve Martin comedy sketch) and released their debut self-titled album on their personal record label Que-So Records. The band kept busy producing material, releasing a split album with the V.I.M.S. in 1996, a 2nd studio album “Rock on Honorable Ones” in 1997 and the E.P. “Tell Me When to Whoa” in 1998. The same year the band’s drummer Lance Morrill left the band on amicable terms and was replaced by a mutual friend of the band Gary Wiseman. 1998 was also the year in which the band moved from Wichita Falls to Denton, Texas.
The band’s career really started picking up in the early 2000s when they joined major record label Jive. On 16 May 2000 they released their album “Let’s Do It for Johnny!” (a reference to Francis Ford Coppola’s movie the Outsiders) and caught a glimpse of fame with their hit “The Bitch Song”. The band was on an upward slope to success after this release and with the output of their 5th studio album “Drunk Enough to Dance” they saw two of their singles become hit records “Emily” and “Girl All the Bad Guys Want”. The latter song was also a critical success and was nominated in the 2003 Grammy Awards for “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal”. The band’s cover of Flock of Seagulls “I Ran (So Far Away)” was adopted as the theme song for the Japanese anime “Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac”.
The band went back to the studios in Atlanta with acclaimed producer Butch Walker to record their follow up album “A Hangover You Deserve”. This album went on to be the most successful release for Bowling for Soup generating three singles “Almost”, “Ohio (Come Back to Texas)” and “1985”. “1985” is considered to be the band’s greatest achievement. It was played incessantly on the radio, charting to No. 5 on Billboard’s Adult 40 chart and was nominated for a Grammy.
The band released “Bowling For Soup Goes to the Movies” the following year, which consisted of an assortment of originals and cover songs that were featured in movies such as “Sky High” and “Cursed”. Bowling for Soup further intertwined themselves in the media by recording the song “Greatest Day” for the movie “Max Keeble’s Big Move” and the theme song for “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius”.
The band launched their next studio album “The Great Burrito Extortion Case” with the uptempo single “High School Never Ends” and took 3 years before releasing their follow up “Sorry for Partyin’”. This marked the band’s longest gap of time between releasing studio albums; however, during this time frame they released a live album and capped of the year with a Christmas album. The band went on to release their second Christmas album “Merry Flippin’ Christmas, Vol.2” the same year as the completion of their “Fishin’ for Woos” album.
Not long after this release the band decided to take a break from touring Europe citing personal and financial strains as reasons. The group announced a 2013 Farewell UK Tour that consisted of 14 dates and put out their 12th studio album “Lunch. Drunk. Love” that year.
Maryland reggae/rock outfit Ballyhoo! have been honing their crossover sounds for almost twenty years now and the quartet know how to work a crowd unlike many others. A lineup consistency means there is total unity onstage from the musicians and the fans are more receptive as they spot out the loyal following at many of the tours. Their energetic and relentless stage performance has won them places on the likes of the Warped Tour and they have played some hugely esteemed venues in their career history.
Regardless of platform, the quartet is always intent on investing everything they have to a performance. The intimate venues feel so much more manic as the crowds begin to swirl and jostle to the soundtrack of 'Battle Cry' and 'Scarlet Blue'. There are more laid back guitar led tracks such as 'Somewhere Tropical' yet the fans want the rocky numbers so they can jump, chant and surge towards Howi Spangler. As the lights cut out following a finale of 'Morning Sunlight' they call out in distain yet after a twenty song set there is no sign of an encore tonight.
sean-ward
Bowling for Soup starts the show by joking about the song “Stacy's Mom” by Fountains of Wayne. “People always think we did it” Jarret jokes before saying they have recorded their own version and will be covering it for our pleasure.
Laughing and joking their way through the cover, then switching to “Girl all the Bad Guys want” the laughing continues as more outdated references are brought forward.
They are having so much fun performing and it's hard not to be drawn into their fun. Leading into another cover “Circle” from their newest album the boys rock the club with an intensity completely modern yet a sound from the 90's.
The convergence of the modern and historical makes for a strange atmosphere and the gear on stage almost appears cluttered. Much like the music it's a controlled chaos helping to ensnare the senses and further endear the band to me. Jarret slows the set and jokes with the audience while proclaiming his love for all the fans and reminding us that their last album has been completely fan funded. With this he leads us into song insisting that everyone sing along to “High School Never Ends.”
As he says, Bowling for soup will never end. In this moment I believe him and hope that is true.
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