Believe it or not, pop-punk veterans Bowling for Soup are about to celebrate eighteen years in the business of show. Frontman Jaret Reddick and bassist Erik Chandler are set to mark the occasion with an acoustic tour of the UK, during which they will perform an intimate, stripped-down set.

This will be the third consecutive year you've toured the UK playing acoustic sets. Why did you decide to bring the acoustic show here?
Erik and I have been doing the acoustic thing for years and we always thought that it would translate well in the UK. It is a totally different show than the full band tour we do every October - it's very up close and personal and the audience get to see the songs performed in a completely different way.

Why did you decide to have your side-projects as opening acts? [The bassist Erik also performs solo, and People on Vacation is frontman Jaret Reddick's side project with Ryan Hamilton from the band Smile, Smile]
The idea of supporting ourselves is pretty simple: we're already here and it is a good opportunity for us to expose our fans to our other musical endeavours.

The band has been together for nearly eighteen years. Looking back, what do you class as the proudest moment and the lowest moment of your career?
The proudest moment would have to be the Grammy nomination. The few years before that were the lowest. We had signed a record deal yet we had no money and some of us were homeless.

Back then, did you ever imagine that you would still be making a living from being in the band eighteen years later?
Definitely not…it was always just something fun to do and I'm still amazed that this is actually my job. The highs and lows have really made us who we are today.

Bowling for Soup play, Oran Mor, Glasgow, Tue 27 Mar, with support from People on Vacation and Erik Chandler.

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