Words: Letty Sharp // Photos: Ian Mc Donnell
Bowling for Soup are an American pop punk band formed in Wichita
Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band are known for their comedic lyrics and
writing the intro theme for the Disney Cartoon, Phineas and Ferb.
We caught up with bassist for the band Rob Felicetti on the 3rd of
December, the night of their Dublin Gig in the 3Olympia.
LS- Hi Rob how are you?
RF- Hi! I’m pretty good, I’m great, how are you?
LS- I have to ask you. The title for your new album, ‘Pop Drunk Snot
Bread’, where did it come from?
RF- So that’s a great question with a not too great of an so that’s a great
question with a not too great of an answer. We were doing the whole
thing we started doing that album we didn’t plan on doing what it’s
because like the world shut off in 2020. We like we had to do something
like we just wanted to see each other so like just go record an album so
we went and did it and since we didn’t really have plans to do
beforehand we were like thinking we were thinking about titles or
anything like that so then like months later when it came down to it
we’re just like spitting stuff off in like a text thread and historically Chris
always comes up with some of the best album names like he came up
with, ‘Drunk Enough To Dance’, and ‘A Hangover You Don’t Deserve’.
So, I think Jarett just like threw it out there because there was that tour
going on with our buddies Simple Plan and New Found Glory and it was
like the, ‘Pop Punk’s Not Dead’, tour and it’s like a big thing it’s like
happy just that entire idea the pop punks not dead so he’s like let’s just be
the jackasses we are and just say you know just make up funny play on
words on that and just literally rattled off the first few words that came
to his head that rhymed [laughs].
LS- Pop Drunk Snot Bread [laughs]It’s a great title, I love it. You guys
were on tour with Less Than Jake and The Aquabats a couple of months
ago. How was the expierience?
RF- that was awesome especially for me because I grew up listening to
both of those bands and it was kind of it was one tour that was split into
like three different segments that went around the whole US so The
Aquabats only were able to do the first part of it which was like June
into July and the opening band was actually my brothers band they’re
called Don’t Panic so it was a really that was like very family literally
oriented toward that first part because it was great pals Less Than Jake
we’re already friendly with The Aquabats which is awesome and then
don’t panic who obviously get along great with and the one day in but I
think it was Brooklyn yeah it was Brooklyn the guitar player, Ian had
like some issue we had to go to the hospital for the day so literally 45
minutes before they’re set up like an hour before they’re set or something
like that Ricky the drummer comes like, ‘Hey can you just play guitar
for us tonight?’, and to learn all their songs and like less than an hour
and just went over them with them in the room just like tapping and like
just playing on a guitar so the whole tour was awesome but that was the
highlight for me that I got to be in the Aquabats for a day
LS- I did see pictures on Instagram I was like, ‘Ohh, Robs in the
Aquabats now’.
RF- And I even got to keep the uniform so I have that in my house I’m
gonna like frame it and put it up.
LS- A piece of history. How was the recording process for Pop Drunk
Snot Bread? It was over the pandemic and all that so it must have been
pretty different for you
RF- Yes and no. I guess once you’re once we were there and like getting
to work it didn’t seem any different but like get the we did it kind of
weird too just like I said the idea was because we hadn’t seen each other
in like months at that point which for us is weird because unlike a lot of
bands we really do genuinely get along and be like like being around
each other so I flew down to Texas and then we got in a tour bus and
took that to Pennsylvania to record the album and I live in Pennsylvania
I didn’t just but just to be part of the whole thing we just did it all
together and we didn’t like work ourselves to death and I think it kind of
shows in the album it’s like it’s just fun so we didn’t do like these long
you know 16-hour days and and we just went there and whatever we
thought was good at the end of the day we’re like alright sounded good
let’s go back to the we had an Airbnb house that we were staying at and
on like a lake so it’s just like a really like it was like a vacation that we
ended up having an album at the end
LS- it’s like you went on a vacation for two weeks and I’m like oh album
an album appears. Do you have a favourite song to play because of the
whole bowling for soup discography must be a tough one.
RF- uh yeah that’s funny Jarett and I were just talking about this as we’re
walking up the stairs because we just did our VIP thing but I was like
hey why don’t we play get happy tonight he’s like yeah it’s not like your
favorite song to play and I was like I think it is so I think it’s, ‘Get
Happy’.
LS- Awesome that’s a great song who is your biggest inspiration for
playing bass playing bass?
RF- Can I give you three?
LS- You can of course.
RF- Okay. Randy Meisner is the original bassist of the Eagles it’s kind of
like but like back then too is there’s really country sounding stuff but it’s
just it’s just an awesome bass player and a really great singer and then
you know when I was like a teenager and really got into punk rock
music, Fat Mike [NO FX] so it’s been one of my favourites just because
he’s just he’s a cool person he’s a ridiculous person and he’s an awesome
musician and songwriter and bass player and then Scott shifflett from
Face to Face just because he’s probably the best player in the universe.
LS- That’s is this just because he’s probably the best player in the
universe that’s a pretty good top three. If you could collaborate with any
musician dead or alive who would it be and why?
RF- The Beastie Boys all three of them so dead and alive. My favorite
band of all time and they did everything like they did old school
hardcore rock hip-hop everything they have instrumental albums so they
just kind of can do it all and they’re just fun to listen to it and I think
that’d be a cool like awesome and fun experience especially if it was like
80s Beastie Boys because they were crazy.
LS- Because they were very genre bending as you said like you know
they would start out as a hardcore band and then went out to hip hop and
then expanded.
RF- yeah they did it all so it’s like I think it would be probably the most
like enriching experience and they’re also just because they’re awesome
and they’re The Beastie Boys of course.
LS- Would you rather have a 10 second scene in a movie with Brad Pitt
or a mixed tag team match with Alexa bliss.
RF- um well I’m a terrible fighter so I’d probably do the Brad Pitt one
and yeah I don’t think Alexa bliss would want me on her side in a fight
that would be very unhelpful.
LS- You could you could always be the hype man you know just get the
crowd going.
RF- Possibly yeah I’ll to ask her about how she feels about that.
LS- You have your own comic book entited, ‘Super Rob’,
congratulations. How was the creative process for that it must have been
a lot of fun to do.
RF- The project yeah it kind of came out of nowhere too cause Jarett is
like an ideas guy and he just had like this idea to do it because it’s based
off that this music video we did for, ‘Kill ‘em With Kindness’, where I
just dressed up this like fake superhero actually and it’s funny that the
like the thing that kind of goes over like my eyes like the goggles that’s
actually from The Aquabats costume but it’s from the one that I had
from like 20 years ago. So it’s just funny that ended anyway that he just
had an idea to do it because I’d be funny and we collaborated with an
artist from the UK and basically just did like a couple zoom calls where
he was like sketching out stuff and we were just talking about like what
the story would be and then he there was like a shared like doc like a
Google doc you know I mean basically was like a really easy experience
where it’s just like hey let’s all put our ideas here and then he started like
drawing it out and getting it all put together and we were Jarertt. and I
were kind of just like you know involved in that process but he’s putting
it all together and we’re just throwing ideas and rewriting lines and stuff
so it’s kind of I’ve never did anything like that so it’s different and it was
cool but it’s not something I do all the time because it just isn’t
something I ever really got into.
LS- I can’t wait for DC to pick it up for their next few movies.
RF- I’d rather marvel [both laugh]
LS- Do you have a favorite album release of this year and who is it by?
RF- uh well it’s credibly it’s incredibly biased it’s probably going to be
ours because it was my first full album with pulling for soup and not for
nothing I don’t sounds ridiculous I just don’t really listen to a lot of like
newer things and it’s not like because I’m against it I just I just forget
that it’s exists I just when I’m at home I just put on like Glenn Miller you
know like old weird just like ambience like I’m not really like which I
probably should I wish I was like more into picking up new albums and
checking it out I actually really did like the newest Simple Plan album
they came out this spring his little different for them which I thought
was cool but off the top my head I’m gonna go with Bowling for Soup
Pop Drunk Snot Bread
LS- It’s a great album you should check it out. Last question do you have
any advice for anyone wanting to start a band in 2022 or 2023?
RF- Well, my advice would be incredibly outdated because starting a
band when I started bands was totally different where you had to like
play a lot and like travel a lot and now it’s you can you know you just
need a computer and social media I would say before my advice is
probably isn’t even good advice it’s just what I think should be done it
would be just go play as many shows as you can wherever was gonna let
you play and just do it and have fun and if it’s not fun don’t do it because
that’s I see a lot of bands do like killing themselves over it basically and
if they’re if you’re not enjoying it then you should do.
LS- that’s some great advice rob thank you for your time and I hope that
the show goes well tonight and Pop Drunk Snot Bread is out
everywhere.
RF- Yes awesome thank you very much this has been great.
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