The four original members grew up in Basking Ridge, NJ and played in smaller bands during high school. Although they decided to forgo college, they also made the decision to move to a college town. New Brunswick, NJ, which is the home of Rutgers University, had a reputation for supporting underground music, and over the years had seen not only musical acts but actors enjoy professional success. The Bouncing Souls not only became a staple in the New Brunswick music scene, but also helped other bands gain an audience by opening up for them in the clubs around town, as well as parties and shows they put on themselves. The band’s name is a reference to Doc Martens shoes, which were a staple of punk dress. To this day, Doc Martens uses the advertising slogan “with Bouncing Soles” for their air-cushioned soles.

Their first full-length album, The Good, The Bad & The Argyle was released in 1994 on Chunksaah Records, their own label. The album was a compilation of several EPs the band had released previously. Two tracks of this record, “Candy” (popularized by The Strangeloves and covered by many other groups) and “What Boys Like” (originally by the Waitresses) served as homage to 1980s new wave while simultaneously striking a humorous jab at homophobia. Their next album, Maniacal Laughter was released in 1996. Half the album was written in a week. It led to a high profile tour with Youth Brigade that got the attention of Epitaph Records.

The Bouncing Souls signed with Epitaph in 1997 and released The Bouncing Souls later that year. While it contains some Bouncing Souls classics like “Cracked”, “Kate is Great”, and “East Coast Fuck You!”, certain tracks on the record are anticlimactic in comparison to their low-fi earlier recordings. Greg himself stated on Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Souls that “It’s a CD of unfinished songs.” Hopeless Romantic followed in 1999. Hopeless Romantic has been heralded for admixing poignant lyrics with their melodic rapidly-paced punk style. Soon after the album’s release, personal problems arose between the band and long-time drummer Shal Khichi which resulted in his departure from the band. He was replaced by former Skinnerbox, Mephiskapheles, and Murphy’s Law drummer, Michael McDermott.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation was the first album released with the new line-up. By now, the band had become viewed as seminal to the modern punk sound, with a new generation of fans discovering their earlier releases as they toured with newer bands as well as larger punk acts such as Hot Water Music. 2002 brought a b-sides album, The Bad the Worse and the Out of Print and an acclaimed split with Anti-Flag as part of the BYO Split Series. In 2003, the band released their 6th album Anchors Aweigh, as well as their first DVD, Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Souls. In 2004, their cover of “Better Things” by The Kinks was used in the film The Manchurian Candidate. In 2005, they had two live releases, a double CD album, simply titled Live, as well as a DVD, titled Live at the Glasshouse, which was the 19th entry in Kung Fu Films’ The Show Must Go Off! series. The band released their 7th album, titled The Gold Record on June 6th, 2006, or 6/6/06 which the band has called ‘The number of the release,’ in reference to 666, which is known as ‘The number of the beast.’ Also, due to their first full-length record being a collection of previous releases, many fans also consider this to in fact be their 6th studio album, and thus 666 is also partly in reference to this. They then headed out on the 2006 Warped Tour in support of the record, and again three years later, in 2009.

In 2009, the band is releasing 20th Anniversary Series in the form of 12 digital tracks (released at the beginning of each month) and 4 7″ vinyl singles (released once every three months).

The original lineup included Mike Herrera on bass, vocals Andy Husted on guitar (later to be replaced by Tom Wisniewski), and Yuri Ruley on drums.

In September 2006, MxPx and the City of Bremerton started a marketing effort revolving around the band’s song “Move to Bremerton”. Bremerton’s Community Renewal Agency secured rights for the song to be played in a promotional website for the city, and MxPx played a concert at the downtown Admiral Theatre on September 16, 2006 with local bands The Divorce and Ruxton Towers. The band was also given keys to the city by Mayor Cary Bozeman in recognition of their contributions to Bremerton. [10][9]

MxPx spent the majority of 2005 and 2006 touring in support of their 7th album Panic. On November 21, 2006, Tooth & Nail Records re-released “Let It Happen Deluxe Edition” with a bonus DVD featuring 12 music videos, new artwork, photographs and some other goodies.

Let’s Rock, MxPx’s second rarities album, was released on Side One Dummy Records on October 24, 2006. The album consists of many previously unreleased songs, re-recorded b-sides and acoustic demos. A new full-length album from their side project Arthur is slated for a 2007 release.

MxPx spent early 2007 on an international tour through parts of Australia and Europe. In March 2007, MxPx played at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas, and from May through June, they headlined the Tooth and Nail Tour, also featuring Hawk Nelson, The Classic Crime, The Fold, Sullivan, Project 86, and Run Kid Run.

The band recently returned from a tour in Brazil with Suicide city, where they co-headlined the 2008 Maquinaria Rock Fest with Sepultura, the Misfits, Biohazard and Suicidal Tendencies.

Also in 2007, MxPx was featured on the labels of 120 limited edition Jones Soda Bottles to promote their July 2007 release, Secret Weapon. They also returned to Tooth and Nail Records. In an interview with Christianitytoday.com Herrera said the band was now free to get back into more of the Christian Market. [11]

Currently, MxPx is touring to promote their latest album, Secret Weapon. Chris Wilson is covering for Yuri as drummer in some shows, as Yuri is looking after his baby daughter.

MxPx toured the United Kingdom with Punchline and The Get Go on the fourth installment of the Good To Go Tour in February 2008. The last show of the 2008 Good To Go Tour which took place at Glasgow’s King Tuts Wah Wah Hut. At this time, during August and September 2008, MxPx joined Lagwagon to play a handful of shows in Canada and the US.

MxPx has released a follow-up to the cover EP On The Cover, which was released on March 24th, 2009. The name of the album is “On The Cover II”, featuring songs covered from fellow punk bands including The Clash and the Descendents.

Drummer Yuri Ruley told ThePunkSite.com that MxPx planned to start writing and recording a ninth album in January 2009,[12] but Mike Herrera more recently stated that there were no immediate plans to do so.

Straightforward, earnest rock music seems to be a contradiction from the path popular music has strayed as of late. The need for genuine lyrics, purposeful direction and accessible melodies has been long overdue. The Dangerous Summer have crafted a throwback to the days when music was charged with hope and contained a much-needed brand of sincerity.

This foursome from Ellicott City, MD, have poured every drop of honesty and thoughtfulness into Reach For The Sun, a polished and wise debut brimming with a poise that belies the band’s years. Taking their name from an Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name, it seems every move toward success has been calculated from the start. “We thought that name sort of fit for the time in which we were starting the band, and the commitment we’re getting into,” explained guitarist Cody Payne. That commitment was one that proved a bit shaky at the band’s beginning, when their crowded hometown shows gave way to smaller turnouts once they ventured past city limits. As Payne recalls, The Dangerous Summer’s first NYC show was held in a bar basement and included an audience of five. But for this collection of friends who’d been toiling away in practice sessions since high school, these were simply the dues of an ambitious group of musicians. And that low attendance record soon became a thing of the past once Hopeless Records came calling, finding the band’

s quintessential rock pleasers just as inviting and impressive as those hometown patrons.

Sticking with producer Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Circa Survive) in their comfortable and familiar home base, The Dangerous Summer wanted to fashion Reach For The Sun with someone who “really knows how to bring out our sound,” Payne said. “Also, since we weren’t doing much as a band and were at home living somewhat normal lives, this album was just driven by pure inspiration and just wanting to play music.” With Bryan Czap adding spiraling second guitar, Tyler Minsberg smattering raptly behind the drum kit and AJ Perdomo’s astute lyrics and ardent delivery, The Dangerous Summer has churned out a studied and unfettered production. The modern nostalgia and urgency of opener and lead single “Where I Want To Be” builds to the crisp ebb-and-flow of “Surfaced,” before giving way to the tempered yearning of “Northern Lights.”

Perdomo emits an understated-yet-electric vocal approach that is vulnerable and defiant in the same breath.

“I really love every song on this album for one reason or another. They all had their own little story in our lives while we were writing the album and seeing it come together in the studio,” Payne said. “The album is overall very positive and about real life. AJ covered a lot of different ground – love, life, death, the past, the future…it’s all there.” In the vein of the honest and clear-cut rock of Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind and the Foo Fighters, The Dangerous Summer have created their own tour de force devoid of a specific genre or particular audience. Anyone who appeals to hopes, futures and candidness will find a piece of themselves in Reach For The Sun. “We really just want people to remember the value of a good, memorable album,” Payne said. “We didn’t focus on any trends going on right now; we just wanted to write a good album that would last forever.”

They released their first album, Everything Goes Numb, which was distributed by Victory Records, on August 26, 2003. The band headlined and sold out their first concert at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey on December 9, 2003. Several of Streetlight Manifesto’s members were well known in the New Jersey third wave ska community for their roles in past ska punk bands from that area, primarily Kalnoky’s Catch 22 and fellow New Jersey band One Cool Guy. As of 2007, the lineup consists of Mike Brown on alto and baritone sax, Jim Conti on alto and tenor sax, songwriter Tomas Kalnoky on guitar and lead vocals, bassist Peter McCullough, trombonist Mike Soprano, trumpet player Matt Stewart, and Chris Thatcher on drums.

Before Streetlight: Catch 22 and B.O.T.A.R.

Kalnoky’s first band was a 3 person punk band called Gimp; they released a tape. Kalnoky, Ansley, and Egan first gained fame as one half of fellow New Jersey band Catch 22. Kalnoky became particularly notable as he was responsible for writing all of their debut album Keasbey Nights, which is regarded as one of the top albums of the third wave of ska. After Keasbey, all three left at separate times and for their own reasons. When Catch 22 recorded their second album, Alone in a Crowd, it was with a considerably different line-up; without Kalnoky, the band had a different sound.

In 2001, Kalnoky gathered a large number of musicians—including Ansley and Egan, several members of One Cool Guy, his brother Achilles, and several of Achilles’ orchestra friends—to perform on the Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution EP, A Call to Arms. Included on the five track, independently released CD is “Here’s to Life”, a song which Streetlight Manifesto reworked and included on Everything Goes Numb, and a new version of Catch 22’s “Hey Sergio”, which includes a new verse and a minor renaming to “Dear Sergio:”. Both Streetlight and the Bandits are members of The RISC Group, a collaboration of artists to self produce and retain rights to their music.

Recording to touring

Streetlight’s first recording consisted of a four-track demo EP, featuring the songs “Everything Went Numb”, “Point/Counterpoint”, “The Saddest Song” and “We Are the Few”, all of which were re-recorded for their debut album. The line-up that recorded the demo consisted almost entirely of musicians from Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution: Josh Ansley (bass guitar), Jamie Egan (trombone & trumpet), Tomas Kalnoky (guitar & vocals), Stuart Karmatz (drums), Dan Ross (alto & baritone saxophone) and Pete Sibilia (tenor saxophone). On the strength of this recording the band was signed to Victory Records, the same label as Catch 22.

After the demo was recorded Stuart Karmatz left and was replaced by Paul Lowndes and Jim Conti took the place of Pete Sibilia. This line-up then recorded Everything Goes Numb, but changed again before the band could perform any live shows, Jamie Egan played both trumpet and trombone, but as he would not be able to do this live Mike Soprano joined on trombone. Paul Lowndes had no intention to tour and was replaced by Chris Thatcher.

Many Catch 22 fans, disappointed with Catch’s post-Kalnoky recordings, not viewing them as up to the same standard as Keasbey, awaited Streetlight’s debut with anticipation, hoping for a return to standard of Keasbey. Upon its release in 2003, it received various positive reviews and numerous comparisons to Keasbey.It even received some good reviews from people who otherwise thoroughly disliked ska. Their first few shows at Rutgers and The Stone Pony not only sold out, but had fans coming from as far away as Minnesota and Canada. They also played several other shows before the year ended, and in 2004 embarked upon the TNT (They’ll Never Tour) Tour. Streetlight’s largely positive welcome when they appeared on the music scene despite little to no promotion or advertising has been attributed to the legacies of the bands from which it evolved (notably Catch 22 and One Cool Guy), and their reputation for strong live performances led to a fanbase that rapidly expanded

Streetlight had grown more successful than they had anticipated, and in September 2004, Josh Ansley announced his departure to pursue an acting career but is still playing music in the rock band HURT on Capitol Records with fellow New Jersey guitarist Paul Spatola.Although a September 19, 2004 concert was listed to be his last, he was not at the show. Chris Paszik performed in his place. The concert, held at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, is notable for being the first live performance of the BOTAR version of Catch 22’s song “Dear Sergio:”.

The next departure was Jamie Egan, who left on January 22, 2005; right before Streetlight Manifesto began the Ska is Dead 2 tour, headlining alongside MU330 and the Voodoo Glow Skulls. Egan left to spend more time with his family and concentrate on his music teaching job at North Brunswick High School in North Brunswick, New Jersey. Delano Bonner came in to play trumpet starting on January 25, 2005, performing at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Dan Ross had planned to leave after the Ska Is Dead 2 to pursue a business career, and was forced to leave early just before the end of the tour due to a family crisis. He has been replaced by Mike Brown, whose first concert was at the start of the European tour. Brown’s first concert in the United States was on May 31, 2005 in Baltimore.

In April 2005, the band headed overseas to Europe for their first tour outside North America, however they were to be wrought with personnel difficulties. Before the tour had even started they were a man down as Delano Bonner was unable to fly out due to not being able to attain a valid Visa. He was eventually able to obtain a Visa from the British Embassy and fly out to perform the last few UK dates, however just after he got there Jim Conti had to return to America due to a family emergency. This meant that Streetlight only played one date with the complete line-up, and after they had finished the UK portion and headed over to mainland Europe had to make do with a 2-man brass section as Delano’s Visa was only valid for the UK. The band also mentioned having received no label support for the tour, and that it had therefore set them back financially. Chris Thatcher said in a post on the unofficial forum that it might be due to the fact that Streetlight were doing things by themselves. Despite these setbacks the band said they had thoroughly enjoyed the tour and vowed to return later that same year.

On the night of October 2, 2005, (in Orlando, Florida) while the band slept in their hotel rooms, their van was broken into and emptied by burglars. The thieves then proceeded to detach the band’s trailer—containing their instruments and merchandise—and drove away with it. In total around $80,000 worth of instruments, merchandise, and personal belongings were stolen.[9] Following the burglary and theft, the band was forced to cancel their following four shows. At their show in Washington DC on October 7, 2005 they announced that they were basically “starting at square one again”. On their website, they announced that they were probably going to have to get “real jobs” to work off the cost of the stolen belongings.

On the night of November 9, 2005 Streetlight Manifesto were robbed again while on tour in Paris, France. This time only their rental car was broken into and about $4,000 worth was stolen, including “the one expensive piece of equipment that wasn’t stolen in last month’s debacle, a 24 track hard drive recorder we’ve been using to document our live shows”. This robbery had nothing to do with the riots taking place in Paris at the time.[10] Sometime between December 3, 2006 and July 3, 2007, Delano Bonner left the band. Sometime before the recording of Streetlight’s new album Somewhere in the Between, Matt Stewart took over Delano’s spot at trumpet.

Somewhere in the Between

In an Alternative Press article about the most anticipated albums of 2007, Streetlight’s new was shown with a release date of January 23rd; however, a post to their website dismissed these rumors. In the article, Kalnoky said “We try not to work on any deadlines. We’re just trying to make it as good as possible, letting it grow more organically.” The new album was also said to be darker than the last album. The band’s main site was updated on the supposed release date of their new album, stating that nearing release the band would upload snippets of songs for download, and they made a cryptic comment about revealing the identity of “bunny’s kidnappers,” a comment referencing the movie The Big Lebowski.

The lead singer and guitarist for MU330 Dan Potthast announced in August 2007 that his new band The Stitch Up would be touring with Streetlight during the next tour and that Streetlight’s new album would have been released by then. On August 13, the official Streetlight Manifesto website underwent a major redesign and update. It stated that their new album, to be titled Somewhere in the Between, was finished recording and packaging. During the months approaching the album’s release, sample clips of the upcoming songs were released sporadically through the site. The site also outlined information on the first official Streetlight Manifesto video, an upcoming headlining US tour, and overseas tours including previously unvisited continents, with further details forthcoming.A second update on August 22 revealed that the new album would officially be titled Somewhere in the Between. On August 31, Streetlight Manifesto officially announced that their headlining US winter 2007 tour would begin on November 7 and “[s]urely it would make no sense to play songs that no one has ever heard…”. The post also stated that the Shout It Loud Tour line-up of Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish and themselves would be “reuniting somewhere on the planet for a tour before year’s end”, which had been revealed to be Australia by a Punknews.org posting the day before.

On September 7, SitB was officially announced to be released on November 13, 2007. Included on the album was the single “We Will Fall Together,” which became the subject of Streetlight Manifesto’s first official music video. The album was made available to fans on November 9 four days prior to the official release date, at their concert at Sayreville, New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom. With the album came a poster, signed by the whole band.

New Red Archives released their first album, Die for the Government, in 1996. Andy Flag also left the band that year because of personal disputes between himself and Justin. Chris Head began filling in on bass in 1997 and then moved to guitar after Jamie Cock took over bass in 1998. The current lineup finalized in 1999 when Chris #2 replaced Jamie on bass. During this time they released albums on Go Kart Records and Fat Wreck Chords, as well as their own label, A-F Records. Of these, Underground Network (recorded by legendary punk producer Mass Giorgini), is widely considered as their “breakthrough” album, successfully connecting the band with its largest audience to that point.

On October 8, 2004, U.S. Representative Jim McDermott gave a speech in the House of Representatives, praising Anti-Flag for working to encourage young people to register and vote.

In 2005 Anti-Flag signed a two-album record contract with major label RCA, though their label A-F Records remains independent. Their first major-label album, For Blood and Empire, was released on March 21, 2006.

On November 25th, 2007 Anti-Flag revealed on their official site that their new album will be titled The Bright Lights of America. It was produced by Tony Visconti and was released on April 1, 2008.

Their latest album recently came out in August of 2009, called The People or the Gun.

That level of excitement is only going to increase with the band’s SideOneDummy debut, THE ‘59 SOUND. Whereas last year’s full-length SINK OR SWIM (XOXO Records) was recorded in under two weeks, for THE ‘59 SOUND the band—which also features bassist Alex Levine, drummer Benny Horowitz and guitarist Alex Rosamilia—spent six weeks in the studio with producer and former Flogging Molly guitarist Ted Hutt (Chuck Ragan, The Bouncing Souls) to craft an album that reconciles the band’s love for classic rock and soul icons such as Bruce Springsteen, Otis Redding and Tom Petty with their New Jersey punk roots to create a unique musical amalgam that transcends genres and stereotypes. “Making this record was a completely different recording process than anything we’ve ever done before,” Horowitz explains. “It’s the first time we ever worked with a producer and I think we all had to get used to that, but it allowed us to do a ton of stuff that we wouldn’t have tried before.”

However, despite the professional set-up that went into making THE ‘59 SOUND, the disc retains the band’s dynamic and youthful live energy, which has become a hallmark of the band’s performance style. “We tried to make these songs feel as alive as possible and approach it like we were writing a set list,” Fallon describes. “Instead of thinking about it like writing a record, we just wanted to write the coolest live songs that we could. We wrote this record with the intention of playing it live and it’s really a preview of seeing us onstage,” he adds. The result is an album that is so timeless that it could have been recorded in 1978 or 2008, eschewing distorted guitars and endless layering in favor of carefully arranged tracks that were painstakingly thought out and flawlessly executed.

Correspondingly, from the anthemic rallying cry of title track “The ’59 Sound” and the arena-ready syncopated rocker “Miles Davis & The Cool,” to stripped-down ballads such as “Here’s Looking At You, Kid” and the neo-soul crooner “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues,” THE ‘59 SOUND is far and away the most adventurous release in the band’s short but prolific career, picking up exactly where the band’s recent Señor And The Queen EP left off. “When I was a little kid listening to Springsteen I remember thinking these aren’t songs, these are gigantic rides you went on—and I thought if I could even attempt to do that that would be excellent, so that’s what we tried to do this time around,” Fallon says, noting that aside from The Boss, The Gaslight Anthem were highly influenced by classic soul artists like Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke, each of whom are directly referenced in the mythology of THE ‘59 SOUND.

Lyrically, Fallon isn’t afraid to wear his influences on his tattooed sleeves, and his growth as a songwriter is evident in the way he’s been able to step outside of himself on THE ‘59 SOUND. “I’m actually telling a few stories about some of my friends this time around because it fits in with this theme of growing up and stepping into adulthood,” Fallon explains. “Some of my friends are having kids, some are getting married, some are getting divorced,” he says, adding that like many songwriters, when he writes in the first-person it isn’t necessarily about him. “This was the first time any of us had gone through these things in life and I kept talking to them on the phone and all these things came out. I felt like I should tell their stories instead of just my own, because after you write so many songs you get bored writing about yourself.”

This summer the band has already completed headline tours of Europe and Australia, as well as a string of Warped Tour dates. September 2008 will see them headlining around the Eastern US, followed by joining Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice on an extensive tour of North America throughout October and November.

Unlike a lot of today’s rock sensations, The Gaslight Anthem aren’t going to take a single second of their ride for granted. “We’re not that young and we’ve already had our hands in the real world, working terrible jobs,” Horowitz explains, adding that The Gaslight Anthem’s line-up has never changed, and that there’s a bond between all of them that’s difficult to describe. “We didn’t go straight from underground music to this fantasy world of being a professional musician, we all did the other side and didn’t like it,” he summarizes, sounding palpably excited. “If this is in front of us and this is actually possible, well that’s the best thing in the world, you know,” he adds with a grin, “and we’ll smile every time we play, that’s a fact.”

Smoke or Fire was formed in 1998 while the brainy punks were still attending college in Massachusetts. The long-time pals teamed up originally under the name Jericho and played basements throughout the Northeast. It wasn’t long after graduation that they tired of Boston’s high cost of living and migrated south to Richmond, Virginia. It was here, tucked beneath the Mason-Dixon line, that the band could not only live affordably and work on their songs, but also be a part of a vibrant musical community that boasts a storied punk rock past and presently teeming with talent. After playing shows and perfecting their songs the band was plucked outta RVA by Fat Wreck Chords just in time to release their debut, 2005’s Above The City.

That album made quite a mark for the young band and the lads went on to tour with Against Me!, The Lawrence Arms, The Casualties, Anti-Flag, and more. It bears mentioning that these guys did the entire 2005 Fat Tour. Why is that special? Because it went to ALL 50 STATES, that’s why! Yep, a three-month sojourn with Against Me! that took them to the likes of Alaska, Hawaii, Delaware…Wyoming…all of ‘em! After a bit of rest and much deliberation, the band was ready to track some new material and decided that Matt Allison at Atlas Studios (Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, The Methadones, etc.) would be the best fit for their next LP.

Prior to entering the studio for their sophomore release, the band underwent a member change as long-time drummer Nick exited the group. Right away they knew Dave Atchison was the man for the job. Formerly of the Jade Tree crust-punk-thrash band, From Ashes Rise, Dave’s percussive talents are heralded throughout the scene and should only strengthen Smoke or Fire’s already-booming rock assault. With a new record in the can and some shows under their belt with the new lineup, Smoke or Fire is ready to share This Sinking Ship with the rest of the world.

The second full-length is always make-or-break for a band, but Smoke or Fire come correct and have stacked the deck. This Sinking Ship boasts a better performance and bears the band’s finest production. Subsequent touring goes without saying. This band is gonna play ‘til they drop and they’ll have their new lineup and new songs on display at a club near you!

The four original members grew up in Basking Ridge, NJ and played in smaller bands during high school. Although they decided to forgo college, they also made the decision to move to a college town. New Brunswick, NJ, which is the home of Rutgers University, had a reputation for supporting underground music, and over the years had seen not only musical acts but actors enjoy professional success. The Bouncing Souls not only became a staple in the New Brunswick music scene, but also helped other bands gain an audience by opening up for them in the clubs around town, as well as parties and shows they put on themselves. The band’s name is a reference to Doc Martens shoes, which were a staple of punk dress. To this day, Doc Martens uses the advertising slogan “with Bouncing Soles” for their air-cushioned soles.

Their first full-length album, The Good, The Bad & The Argyle was released in 1994 on Chunksaah Records, their own label. The album was a compilation of several EPs the band had released previously. Two tracks of this record, “Candy” (popularized by The Strangeloves and covered by many other groups) and “What Boys Like” (originally by the Waitresses) served as homage to 1980s new wave while simultaneously striking a humorous jab at homophobia. Their next album, Maniacal Laughter was released in 1996. Half the album was written in a week. It led to a high profile tour with Youth Brigade that got the attention of Epitaph Records.

The Bouncing Souls signed with Epitaph in 1997 and released The Bouncing Souls later that year. While it contains some Bouncing Souls classics like “Cracked”, “Kate is Great”, and “East Coast Fuck You!”, certain tracks on the record are anticlimactic in comparison to their low-fi earlier recordings. Greg himself stated on Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Souls that “It’s a CD of unfinished songs.” Hopeless Romantic followed in 1999. Hopeless Romantic has been heralded for admixing poignant lyrics with their melodic rapidly-paced punk style. Soon after the album’s release, personal problems arose between the band and long-time drummer Shal Khichi which resulted in his departure from the band. He was replaced by former Skinnerbox, Mephiskapheles, and Murphy’s Law drummer, Michael McDermott.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation was the first album released with the new line-up. By now, the band had become viewed as seminal to the modern punk sound, with a new generation of fans discovering their earlier releases as they toured with newer bands as well as larger punk acts such as Hot Water Music. 2002 brought a b-sides album, The Bad the Worse and the Out of Print and an acclaimed split with Anti-Flag as part of the BYO Split Series. In 2003, the band released their 6th album Anchors Aweigh, as well as their first DVD, Do You Remember? 15 Years of the Bouncing Souls. In 2004, their cover of “Better Things” by The Kinks was used in the film The Manchurian Candidate. In 2005, they had two live releases, a double CD album, simply titled Live, as well as a DVD, titled Live at the Glasshouse, which was the 19th entry in Kung Fu Films’ The Show Must Go Off! series. The band released their 7th album, titled The Gold Record on June 6th, 2006, or 6/6/06 which the band has called ‘The number of the release,’ in reference to 666, which is known as ‘The number of the beast.’ Also, due to their first full-length record being a collection of previous releases, many fans also consider this to in fact be their 6th studio album, and thus 666 is also partly in reference to this. They then headed out on the 2006 Warped Tour in support of the record, and again three years later, in 2009.

In 2009, the band is releasing 20th Anniversary Series in the form of 12 digital tracks (released at the beginning of each month) and 4 7″ vinyl singles (released once every three months).

Upon arrival at the second campsite, the group, after a rousing but slightly awkward session of “never-have-I-ever” with a pot of leftover refried beans, discovered that the site’s keeper had not showered in over 3 months. She also possessed one golden retriever, and one banjo. Pete immediately asked to play the banjo and subsequently entertained the group all night singing songs around the campfire.

J’s love for dogs prevented him from enjoying even one minute of Pete’s music, but it was later told by his trip cader that Pete “was pretty good”. And thus it began. J tried to convince Pete to audition for the all-male a cappella group he was directing that year, the world-renowned “Zumbyes.” Pete was quite uncomfortable with the idea. But, J seemed alright and Pete showed up for the audition. Pete ended up joining the Amherst College Zumbyes, even though it was and still is well understood that college a cappella is super lame. After joining the group, they had to be friends. Again, Pete was quite uncomfortable with the idea.