Bouncing Souls to play at Riot Room

It's been 20 years, and the Bouncing Souls are still bouncing.

"I don't think there's any real secret," bassist Bryan Kienlen said. "I think it's just a matter of doing what you love. … If we didn't have fun we wouldn't do this."

The Bouncing Souls have been on tour all year with Bayside to celebrate their 20th anniversary. In 2009 alone, they've played more than 180 shows.

Being on the road that long may get tiring to others, but not these guys.

"We've done it our entire adult lives," Kienlen said. "It's probably really weird when you sit down and think about it, but we don't. It's just sort of natural I guess."

Along with the tour, the band has released a new song at the beginning of every month. Later this year, they'll release the album Ghosts on the Boardwalk with all 12 songs on it. There's no official release date yet, but it will be out in time for their third annual Home for the Holidays show. Every year between Christmas and New Year's, they perform four nights in a row in their home state - New Jersey.

Releasing songs one at a time was a way to keep the celebration going and get fans excited to see what will be next.

"We just wanted to shake things up, shake up the routine a little bit," Kienlen said. "It sort of extends the celebration."

The Bouncing Souls started out with the help of the Ramones' easy-to-learn songs.

"Ramones are actually not only a huge influence, but I think they were like a door opener," Kienlen said. "Because they wrote these songs that made you want to pick up an instrument and play because they were so easy."

Other influences include 7 Seconds, Youth Brigade, Agnostic Front, The Cure and many other bands around during the '80s.

Kienlen, guitarist Pete Steinkopf, vocalist Greg Attonito and drummer Michael McDermott make up the band. All but McDermott are original members; he joined in 1999 after their release of Hopeless Romantic.

After two decades of playing music together, the Bouncing Souls haven't really changed their sound.

"I guess in 20 years we've gotten a tiny bit better at playing our instruments," Kienlen joked. "It kind of evolves."

Writing music is a group effort for the band. And with 120 songs recorded, making up new ones gets tough.

"Pete, Greg and myself all carry notebooks around in life," Kienlen said, "and whenever some inspiration hits we'll write it down."

Steinkopf and Kienlen get together with McDermott to write the music. That's when they get out their notebooks and start piecing together lyrics.

Kienlen said one person may have a great chorus while another will have the verse.

"These songs are a fraction of each person, making one song," he said.

Over the summer, the band traveled with the Vans Warped Tour for their eighth year on the bill. Living most of their lives on the road, the Bouncing Souls consider the summer-long concert to be their favorite all-around tour. They've known the people who run Warped for years and grew up with them, so they're like a big family.

"There's that element to it and there's this camping element to it which I personally love," Kienlen said. "I like waking up in a field and having to go find a place where there's water so I can shower. I love everything about it. I like playing short sets like that - I think it's good for punk rock."

The band has a pretty intense and loyal fan base. On their Myspace page, www.myspace.com/bouncingsouls, there is a photo album dedicated to fans who have Bouncing Souls tattoos.

"It's pretty damn cool … makes me really proud," Kienlen said. "It's one of those things I'm really proud about - the intensity of fans that we've reached out and got. The tattoo thing is incredible. There's like hundreds of pages in that gallery. Amazing."

Kienlen designs all the artwork for the band, including their albums, t-shirts and other merchandise.

The Anniversary Tour stops Nov. 4 at the Riot Room in Kansas City.

cosburn@unews.com