The Corona Stage

Bowling for Soup entered 2020 with momentum.

The band toured the UK with Simple Plan, the same friends it had brought to Texas and taken across the Atlantic back in the early 2000s. The venues were bigger. The shows were huge!

People were also starting to talk seriously about a new virus.

Some people on tour were sick. But sickness during this time of year in the UK was common. BFS called the English flu “the lurgy,” and no one really thought the new virus might already have entered backstage. They still don't know if that was the case.

Meet-and-greets became less physical.

No hugs.

Maybe fist bumps.

Lots of hand sanitizer.

Nobody understood what was coming until they returned home.

Bowling for Soup's final full-band show before the shutdown was February 21, 2020, at Mardi Gras Galveston.

They performed on the Corona Stage.

Naturally, they made jokes about it.

The event would later be talked about as a superspreader.

Bowling for Soup somehow escaped catching COVID there, but if you ask them, they still don't understand how that was possible!

Within weeks, dates on the calendar began disappearing.

For Jaret, that was one of the hardest and strangest parts.

His entire adult life had revolved around things being added to a calendar.

Shows.

Flights.

Interviews.

Tours.

Even his personal life is tied to the calendar. It's the new “Bible,” but on his phone.

Now months of planning and previously confirmed dates were vanishing.

Bowling for Soup had fortunately been run conservatively enough to have reserves. Jaret had always wanted the business to be able to survive a disaster and continue paying modest salaries for a while.

He had never imagined the disaster would be the entire world stopping.

The band used its reserves. Government-backed loans helped. Jaret sent money to crew members who were struggling when he could.

Rainmaker couldn't create concerts.

It could help Bowling for Soup survive until concerts returned.

Meanwhile, Jaret essentially moved into his home studio.

Casey jokes that she saw him less during the pandemic than when he was touring.

He livestreamed constantly.

His “COVID-19 Tour” included shows four or five times a week: themed shows, deep cuts, full albums and even “Improv Mondays.”

He estimates the charity streams he did over the course of those many months raised around a quarter-million dollars.

Bowling for Soup also began online Happy Hours that could run four or five hours because there was nowhere else to go.

The same direct relationship with fans that had sustained independent records now became one of the things sustaining everyone emotionally.

The four band members would simply go on Facebook Live, stream to other platforms and, well...hang out!

They would invite guests in advance and on the fly.

They brought in fans to ask questions and really just enjoyed spending time together.

Then, during one of those online hangs, somebody said what everyone had been thinking.

This sucks.

We need to make music.

Jaret suggested they make an album.

Not remotely.

Together.

Sound Mind Studios was in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania, very close to Rob's house. He knew it well and had talked it up enough for the guys to take a chance!

Rob even flew to Dallas first so the entire band could board the bus together.

Everyone took COVID tests. All negative.

The band, Dave and photo/video/BFS media guy Sean Kennedy jumped on a tour bus, drove to the Poconos and moved into an Airbnb.

The guys heard songs together on the bus ride. Chris laughed uncontrollably at “I Wanna Be Brad Pitt.” Everyone was stoked!

They recorded during the day at Sound Mind Studios with A.J. Larsen from Don't Panic (Rob's brother Ted's band) at the board, engineering.

At night, all four major sports were active, so they watched the Cowboys and Steelers play football, as well as the other Dallas teams—the Mavericks, Stars and Rangers.

They cooked.

They hung out.

They drank beers.

They made Pop Drunk Snot Bread.

For Bowling for Soup, the album was not simply a creative project.

It was therapy.

Something essential had been taken away.

Getting back into a room together reminded them how much they loved it.