Abilene, TX

In 1996, Bowling for Soup opened a sold-out show in Abilene for a breaking band called The Hunger. The show was sponsored by radio station KEYJ, home of DJ and fan Dave Andrews. The station had been spinning several of BFS's songs over the previous year.

So they took the stage in front of a massive crowd.

People knew their songs.

Not a few people.

Enough people that the band could hear their own words being sung back at them.

Jaret came offstage overheated, found a trash can and threw up.

Then he gathered the other guys.

He told them he thought Bowling for Soup actually had a shot. And in his mind, he knew what to do next.

But it would only work if everyone put the band first. No matter what!

That meant missing weddings, birthdays, family events and funerals. It meant turning down normal-life opportunities because the band had a show. It meant being willing to sleep on floors, spend endless days and nights in the van, and play anywhere and everywhere anyone would listen!

Everybody agreed.

Before Abilene, Bowling for Soup was a band they loved being in.

After Abilene, Bowling for Soup became the thing they were going to try to build their lives around.