The Bouncing Souls

You can count the number of bands who've stayed together for 20 years on two hands, and you can use just one to count those who've consistently released quality material for two decades. In 2009, The Bouncing Souls entered that esteemed category, and in keeping with their D.I.Y. roots, they've done it without major labels, corporate radio, MTV, or teen magazine pinups. Picture it: 1989, a Knights of Columbus Hall in Bernardsville, New Jersey. A supportive music-loving teacher throws down $120 to cover expenses. A bunch of sweaty high school kids gather to sneak beers and rock all night at the debut show of a band called The Bouncing Souls. And a Jersey institution is born.

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Like any young band with energy to burn and original songs under their belt, the boys took to the road in order to share their music and spirit with any crowd that would listen. Though it wasn't until 1995 that the band was able to tour on a full-time basis, they soon found the road to be a more frequent home than the comfort of their own beds. From headlining tiny rooms in remote towns to playing Wembley Arena with Green Day and Tokyo's Budokan with My Chemical Romance to spending time on seven different editions of Vans Warped Tour, The Bouncing Souls have clocked more travel time than most airline pilots.

Since 1996, the band has had a constant traveling companion and honorary fifth member - their primary touring vehicle, lovingly called The White Castle. For ten years, she gave dutiful service, until The Gold Tour, when her engine gave out - with 300,000 miles on the odometer. Fortunately, there are many more tour dates in store for both the band and their beloved Castle. Exactly how many of those dates is impossible to say, though, since the band hasn't exactly been keeping score. "I'd love to figure out how many shows we've played...I wish we kept count," says guitarist Pete Steinkopf. Frequent attendees of those gigs (true believers, all) hail the Souls as one of the best bands in the world, and the boys feel the same devotion to their fans. "Bouncing Souls fans are the greatest friends ever," enthuses frontman Greg Attonito, "They're passionate and full of life. They really are part of the band in the sense that we're plowing a path through life together in good times and in bad."

Doing it for the sake of the music, the fans, and their own inspiration for twenty years, the group – and their White Castle – are going pedal to the metal on a full tank of gas. According to their frontman, "The shared driving force is part of the mechanics that keeps the beast truckin' down the next highway. We were - and still are - a few passionate, rebellious, creative, idealistic, party loving punks looking for a good time, for something to believe in, and for something meaningful to live for." With twenty years behind these legends from the Garden State, there's a lot more still to come from The B.S. – and that's no bull. [Bruce J. McDonald]