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BOUNCING SOULS
GO GOLD
by Lisa Sharer
Photos by Cassandre DeCorte
From the March 2007 issue of PRICK Magazine.
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 Bouncing Souls (L-R) Bryan Kienlen, Michael McDermott, Greg Attonito, and Pete Steinkopf |
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One of the longest lived punk bands out of New Jersey, the Bouncing Souls
are connoisseurs of skin art and the music that goes along with it. With four
of the happiest, care-free punks you’ll ever meet, these
guys helped define the scene as it is today. Stemming from
the DIY scene, they have been climbing their way up through
the ranks to become a well-respected independent band.
Former Murphy’s Law member, Michael McDermott has been
the drummer for the Bouncing Souls for the last seven years
and was able to tell us the ins and outs of their career.
Since their formation as high school friends, McDermott has been the only member
change in the past twenty years, proving that the family that plays together stays together.
“We’ve always done it on our own terms,” says McDermott, describing that their lifestyle has
been wholehearted and there are no regrets. With two studio albums out on their own
record label, Chunksaah Records, and the other five on indie label, Epitaph Records, it is quite
clear that this band has done everything just how they wanted and with all the soul
they needed.
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 Greg Attonito on vocals |
 Bryan Kienlen on bass |
 Pete Steinkopf on guitar |
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Just like any other family the Bouncing Souls have had their ups and downs, but they’ve
kept it together and made it better.Their newest album The Gold Record, which came out in
June of last year, was meant to be a symbol. “It is a metaphor for a new day,” or possibly in
hopes of selling those 500,000 copies. McDermott
felt that this album was more to “complete a thought
like finishing a song.” In their catalog of albums,
Anchors Aweigh, which was deemed a much more
cliché darker record, is perfectly contrary to their
current frame of mind, but at the time McDermott
confesses the members were having a much worse
reality. The Gold Record, attests to their new attitude
with lyrics such as “I heard someone say that nothing
gold can stay, but there’s a love in all our souls and it
shines like gold.”
This album was inspired, in part, by the area in
which they wrote many of the songs. Asbury, N.J.,
home to Bruce Springsteen, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of
Fame songwriter, has been an inspiration to the Souls
in the past and always a bit of a hero to the band. In
order to focus solely on well-written music, the band
decided that staying completely in the element
would make for a good setting. They lived together
for a month in the home of their manager contemplating and writing for an album that
they all hoped would be one of the best yet.
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 Michael McDermott on drums |
 Greg Attonito |
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When discussing the art of tattoos, McDermott says,“they’re for anybody. Nobody
should be snobbish about it. If you want nothing but boobs, balls and wieners then whatever.
Do what you choose. These days you can go to the store to get a Yoohoo and a
tattoo.” When discussing his own tattoos he is preferential towards the Asian style of
art. “Every tattoo symbolizes something for me—a place, a time. People you’re with in
this industry changes frequently.”
The band has an array of tattoos. Bryan Kienlen and Michael McDermott posed for
a few pictures and told us all about the meaning of their choices. The meanings were for
personal inspiration and family connection. Kienlen had a girlfriend that worked at New
York Adorned for eight years; hence the majority of tattoos were done at that shop.
Check out their work and if you didn’t get a chance to see them while they were on tour,
buy their new album and get to know their songs before they come around again.
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