The Bouncing Souls (Greg) Warped Interviews Pt. V
When you think of punk music, you have to think of the 20 years and going strong Bouncing Souls.
This is a huge reason I was totally honored to have the opportunity to talk with Greg Attonito, who sits pretty at lead vocals.
One thing I’ve always loved about this band is that they’ve never forgotten where they came from; and I don’t mean literally, but I mean their roots as punk rockers. They’re not “too good” to give interviews or play small venues, even though they’ve had great success.
Bouncing Souls LIVE @ Cincinnati Warped 2009
As we ventured back to the catering area- where I’m repeatedly told NOT to go- we began our interview.
Me and Greg (vocals, Bouncing Souls)
Me: You all have been a band for 20 years. Does this feel like a huge accomplishment or has it been kinda easy?
Greg: It’s great. I mean I can’t even being to describe all the experiences I’ve had and what they’ve meant to me. Making music, bringing it to people, seeing their reactions, to what you’ve created. And then there’s the whole business side of being a band all these years and making it work, it’s been amazing.
Me: That is pretty impressive, I must say. I mean, 20 years?! I was four!
[Mark] And it’s all the same members except for the drummer?
Greg: Yes. Shy was the drummer for ten years and now… it was a hard breakup.
[Mark] And still drinking Cherry Coke?
Greg: Yeah! Ha ha
Me: So you all have been on quite a few Warped Tours, I remember seeing you back in 2001. Do you know how many Warped Tours this is for you?
Greg: Yeah this is eight. I haven’t done all eight tours like, end to end, but this is the eighth one.
Me: What do you like about the Warped Tour and what do you not like?
Greg: Okay, what I don’t like about the Warped Tour is the whole thing. It’s long. It’s really, really long. It’s two months long, it’s just a long tour to be on the same tour. So it becomes a grind when you’re on the whole tour, but it’s amazing because you’re meeting all these new people and you’re really exposed to different things. Everyone who comes here is potentially seeing new bands and meeting different people from different places that they necessarily wouldn’t run into them. That’s the best part about the Warped Tour. Um.. yeah! Two good and bads!
Me: Do you prefer to play in the morning or at night?
Greg: I like playing earlier, like two or three. Everybody’s kind of fresh, we are, the audience isn’t burned out by the sun by like, six or seven and they’re more energetic. It’s like the peak of the day, two.. or three, or four.
Live @ Cincinnati Warped 2009
Me: What would you be doing if you weren’t in a band? Do you think you’d be working a desk job?
Greg: I have no idea. I certainly… with the person that I am, I just couldn’t work a normal job, or at least not for long. It’s the way I always was. I always have to like have a creative side that’s like… always going to come out. It may make things better or worse for me, one way or another like, depending on whether it’s positive or negative.
Me: What were you doing before you all made the band? Did you have any kind of job then?
Greg: We had a lot of jobs in the beginning, just odd jobs. Just whatever a 20 something year old kid can get, part-time.
Me: Did you have any funny jobs you worked?
Greg: Yeah, actually I worked for the mosquito control once in Milesecks County in Jersey and actually work a yellow shirt that said “Mosquito Control†on it, which everybody thought, “That’s the coolest shirt, dude! I want that shirt!â€
Me: Do you still have it?
Greg: No! I think I gave it away to somebody. But anyway, it was funny, it’s what you’d think; we went out in the woods and looked in the water to see if mosquitoes were growing in the water. That was a funny job.
Me: Hmm well that sounds like something that would be in Kentucky.
[Mark] So you all have been a band for so long, and when you come in the Warped Tour there may be a lot of kids that aren’t familiar with your band, so do you feel like you’re in a sense, starting over? I mean, I’ve seen you all do sold out shows at like, Bogart’s and The Dame.
Greg: Well, I think that personally and as a band, we’ve gone through stages where you get to a certain point and you get lazy and then you realize like, you forever have to keep moving or proving it for yourself, otherwise no matter what you’ve done or who you are, your life gets stagnant. I think that’s a challenge. It’s not hard to be a band starting out. It’s not hard to be a band, be going and be like, twenty-two or three and go on tour in a van. It’s way more difficult to maintain that once you become like thirty… mid thirties. That has really become a challenge at that point. I think like, young kids, they have no place to even understand that. And that’s why people that are a little bit older and have been in bands and in life a little bit longer can understand it and appreciate it and see that we’re doing it, still making good music and what that means. A lot of people out here on the Warped Tour, a lot of the bands and the production people are like, “Oh my God, we’re so glad you guys are here.†Cause they don’t care about a lot of these young bands that all these little kids came out here to see.
Live @ Cincinnati Warped 2009
Me: I was going to ask you; how does it feel to be one of the core bands on the tour? I mean, people that are into substantial music… you know, there are all these bands that have like the big long names that all sound the same…
Greg: And then they’re gone in a couple of years…
Me: Yeah, and like, you, Bad Religion, NOFX, bands like that; you’ve been around, you’re going to be around, how does it feel to be the backbone of the Warped Tour?
Greg: It’s cool, it’s really cool. It’s cool to be a part of it cause there are bands that came before us that with them, we became who we are because of them and now there’s a handful of bands out here who grew up around the Bouncing Souls, and that’s what it’s about, that’s what it’s really about! Carrying this musical torch and energy. It’s stabilized all of us on some level, music can really do that and help propel us into new experiences, meeting new people, having new understandings of ourselves and of life, that’s really what it’s about. Helping carry that torch; I’m really, really happy to be a part of that.
Live @ Cincinnati Warped 2009
Me: Warped Tour is like, historical. I mean, it’s been going on for such a long time…
[Mark] It’s the longest running tour, I guess!
Greg: The longest running American tour.
Me: Do you all have any plans after the Warped Tour? Are ya’ just gonna lay low for a bit?
Greg: We’re… about a week or so off, then we go for two weeks in Europe and then across Canada, then a little bit more time off, and then hit the West Coast.
[Mark] Do you still keep in touch with your ex drummer?
Greg: Yeah, we do.
[Mark] Does he ever come out to shows?
Greg: He hasn’t come out to any shows.
[Mark] Is that a sad thing?
Greg: *shrug*
Me: What a party pooper!
[Mark] What about the guy that wrote the book?
Greg: Rob Santello! Yeah, well, he doesn’t work with us, he actually works with um… he’s a chef in New York. But yeah, he’s still good friends with everybody.
[Mark] Well, he wrote a great, great book. He introduced the term “fun bags†to me, which I use all the time after I read that; which I think is hilarious.
Me: My new word is “insta-chub.†*laugh, blah blah*…. So do you all have plans for when your band decides to call it quits? Do you have any goals or do you want to retire anywhere?
Greg: There is no retiring, ya know? I’ve had thoughts about those kinds of things. But really, ya know.. I’m gonna be just rockin’ until I’m dead. One way or another, as long as I can sing.. I mean, I can sit in a chair and play acoustic guitar ‘til I’m like, 80 years old, and we can do that as the Bouncing Souls. We can sit and play music together forever. Until we die.
[Mark] So do you feel like, if you had to answer the question; Will you be on stage when you’re 50 years old like Ozzy?
Greg: Yeah, I mean I have no doubt. That’s what I do, that’s what I’m here to do, I don’t know how to do anything else and there’s probably a reason for that. Otherwise, I’d probably be like, “I’m gonna go to construction, I’m sick of this music shit!†But maybe I’m bad at it; maybe I know how to do it a little bit. This is what I do, this is what I’m meant to do and I love doing it, so I’m just going to keep doing it in more ways. I’ve done some solo touring with Shanti, my wife, and Vick from The Slackers. He’s great and we’re doing a solo tour this fall with Kevin Seconds, Shanti, Kepi from the Groovie Ghoulies and Vick. We’ll probably be coming through here, it’ll be cool, we’re gonna do a lot of different stuff.
[Mark] So you mentioned your wife does touring all the time, does that put any kind of strain on your personal life? A couple of you guys are married, right?
Greg: Yes. Pete has been divorced. It has not been easy for sure. At the same time I guess us both being musicians and being able to care about that part of each other, we’re able to work it out.
Me: Anything else you’d like to end with?
Greg: Thank you. Come see us this fall, see us out West or on the acoustic tour!
*****
www.myspace.com/bouncingsouls
www.bouncingsouls.com
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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